In a major setback to the Opposition bloc, West Bengal Chief Minister and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced 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 BJP." the TMC supremo said, as reported by news agency ANI. "I gave many proposals but they rejected them from the beginning. From then, we have decided to fight the elections in Bengal alone," she added.
Mamata's statement on Rahul Gandhi's Nyay Yatra
The Bengal Chief Minister also claimed she had not been informed of Rahul Gandhi's Nyay Yatra passing through Bengal, contrary to claims by the Congress that they had invited I.N.D.I.A bloc parties to join the Yatra.
"They did not even bother to inform me that they would be coming to West Bengal as a matter of courtesy even though I am a part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no relation with me as far as Bengal is concerned" Mamata Banerjee said. "We will decide on what to do at the all-India level. We are a secular party. We will do whatever we can to defeat the BJP. The alliance does not comprise any one party. We have said that they should fight in some states and the regional parties should be left to fight alone in the other states. They should not interfere" she added.
Potential reason for Mamata's move
It is learnt that the breakdown in Trinamool and the Congress came after state unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury continued his attack on the Bengal Chief Minister. In a press conference on Tuesday, Adhir Chowdhury claimed that in the 2011 elections, Mamata Banerjee came to power with the mercy of Congress. "This time, the elections will not be fought at the mercy of Mamata Banerjee. The Congress defeated the BJP and TMC in the two seats that Mamata Banerjee is leaving. The Congress party knows how to contest the elections. Mamta Banerjee is an opportunist; she came to power in 2011, with the mercy of Congress," the Congress MP said.
Jairam Ramesh's reaction on Mamata's announcement
After Banerjee's announcement, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has said that TMC is an important pillar of the I.N.D.I.A bloc and the alliance cannot be imagined without Mamata Banerjee. "You have not listened to the whole statement of Mamata Banerjee. Her whole statement is that we want to defeat BJP and we will not take even a single step back from defeating BJP. With the same feeling, we are entering West Bengal. When the journey is long, there can be some speed breakers in the path, and there can be a red light as well, but that does not mean that we should stop the journey itself. The journey continues; we cross the speed breakers, and red lights turn green," said Jairam Ramesh.
Lok Sabha elections 2024
It should be noted here that general elections are expected to be held in India between April and May to elect the members of the 18th Lok Sabha. The tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha is scheduled to end in the month of June. The previous general elections were held in April–May 2019. After the elections, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance formed the government at the Centre, with Narendra Modi continuing as Prime Minister for the second straight term.
(With ANI inputs)
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