'Repeatedly Declared Desire...': Congress On TMC Announcing Lok Sabha Candidates In Bengal

Mamata Banerjee-led TMC announced candidates on all the 42 seats in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

TMC announces candidates on all 42 seats in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls

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The Congress party on Sunday reacted to its I.N.D.I.A bloc ally Trinamool Congress for annnouncing candidates on all the 42 seats saying that the grand old party had "repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement" with the Mamata Banerjee-led party in West Bengal. 

On Sunday, during its Jonogorjon Sabha at Kolkata's Brigade Ground, TMC announced its list of 42 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Reacting to the same, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements." 

"The Indian National Congress has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together," he added. 

"We have always said that our doors are open for negotiations and seat-sharing talks but there should be no unilateral announcement of the seats, we should do it collectively together as we have done in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, UP, and so on...," the Congress MP added. 

"The TMC has announced, I don't know what pressure was there on the TMC but as far as we are concerned we want to strengthen the INDIA alliance in West Bengal...So let's see what happens," he said. 

The Sunday announcement by TMC comes after its chief Mamata Banerjee said in January this year that the party will contest the polls "alone". Taking a dig at Congress, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that she had no discussions with them regarding seat sharing in the state.

 "I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat BJP," Banerjee said.