KOLKATA: Despite the Congress party attempting to reach Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, she reiterated on Saturday that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Bengal independently. Following Banerjee’s decision to rule out a TMC-Congress alliance on Wednesday, Sonia Gandhi reached out to her on the same day to inquire about her well-being following a car accident. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also sent a text message expressing concern about the incident, according to sources.
Sources cited by reports further revealed that Banerjee had extended an offer to Congress for the Berhampore and Malda South constituencies and was open to considering a third constituency. However, seat-sharing negotiations hit a roadblock when Rahul Gandhi requested “10-12 seats.” Despite Congress later reducing its demand to six seats, the Chief Minister reportedly stated, “Non-BJP regional parties aim to defeat the BJP. We will collectively decide on the strategy post the Lok Sabha elections.”
Nevertheless, Banerjee hinted at her willingness to meet Rahul Gandhi during her tour of North Bengal. Rahul, leading the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,’ is scheduled to be in north Bengal at the same time.
Regarding the expected departure of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar from the INDIA bloc, Banerjee expressed the view that it would benefit the RJD-Congress alliance in the Lok Sabha polls.
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