Congress and TMC indulged in a war of words yet again over alliance in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections. The latest in the episode comes a day after TMC MP Derek O’Brien said that the party would go solo in the state and there is “no change in this position”. State Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday (February 24) said that the grand old party will fight the general elections alone in Bengal and that the TMC is in a “dilemma”. He demanded an “official yes or no” from Mamata Banerjee. Hitting back, TMC MP Santanu Sen accused Chowdhury of “doing everything possible to malign the TMC”.
What did Congress say?
Chowdhury said that the TMC is not officially confirming if the alliance has ended in Bengal and therefore is in dilemma.
“We have said this many times that Congress will fight alone in West Bengal. They (TMC) are in a dilemma. There should be an official yes or no from the party Supremo (Mamata Banerjee). They are not saying officially that the process of forging the alliance has ended. Because they are in a dilemma,” he said.
He claimed that the TMC has an apprehension that if it contests alone, the party may well lose the minority votes.
"The first dilemma is that a section of the party believes that if they contest alone, without the INDIA alliance, then the minorities of West Bengal will vote against them. One section of the TMC wants the alliance to continue. Another section is in another dilemma that if the alliance is given more importance in Bengal, then the Modi government will use ED, and CBI against them. Because of these two dilemmas, the TMC has not been able to make a clear decision. Maybe there are some talks in Delhi, but I don't have any such information," he said.
TMC hits back
TMC MP Santanu Sen alleged that Chowdhury has been “giving oxygen to the BJP” by maligning the TMC.
“Adhir Chowdhury should first clear his stand. Everyone knows that for the past few years, he has been doing everything possible to malign the anti-BJP force TMC and give oxygen to the BJP,” he said.
What had Mamata said on the matter?
Mamata Banerjee had announced on January 24 that her party would go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. She asserted that the TMC would not enter into any alliance in the state.
"I had no discussions with the Congress party. 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 the BJP. I gave many proposals but they rejected them from the beginning. From then, we have decided to fight the elections in Bengal alone," she said.
(With ANI inputs)
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