TMC Likely To Skip Rahul Gandhi led ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ in Bengal

The Trinamool Congress is reportedly unlikely to participate in the ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ led by Rahul Gandhi, as it enters West Bengal on January 25, according to a senior party official. The Yatra, currently progressing through Assam, is scheduled to enter West Bengal through Bakshirhat in Cooch Behar district on January 25.

After a two-day break on January 26-27, it will traverse Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling before heading to Bihar on January 29. It will re-enter West Bengal on January 31 through Malda, passing through Congress strongholds Murshidabad, before leaving the state on February 1.

TMC to not join Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

The senior TMC leader revealed that they have not received a formal invitation from the Congress, and even if one is received, the likelihood of joining the Yatra is minimal. This development occurs amidst increasing tensions between the TMC and Congress, allies in the INDIA bloc alliance, over seat sharing in West Bengal. TMC leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, have emphasized that their party is primarily combating the BJP in the state.

On Tuesday, Banerjee criticized the Congress during an internal party meeting, accusing them of causing delays in seat-sharing discussions within the INDIA bloc in West Bengal due to unjustified demands for 10-12 seats, whereas the TMC is willing to share only two. Senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya stated that the party has extended invitations to all INDIA bloc partners, leaving the decision to join the Yatra or not in the hands of the TMC.

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The strained relations between the two parties escalated when the TMC’s offer of two seats, based on the Congress’s 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, was deemed insufficient. In the 2019 elections, TMC secured 22 seats, Congress won two, and the BJP secured 18 seats in the state. Despite being allies in the 2001 assembly polls, 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and the 2011 assembly polls, the alliance ousted the CPI(M)-led Left Front government of 34 years only in the 2011 polls.