Trinamool snubs Congress alliance efforts, to contest all Lok Sabha seats in Bengal

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien reiterated his party’s stance to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal independently. O’Brien emphasized that the party remains committed to fielding candidates in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, along with a few seats in Assam and one seat in Meghalaya. This reaffirmation comes amidst reports suggesting renewed talks between the Congress party and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC for a possible alliance in West Bengal.

“A few weeks ago, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that TMC is contesting all 42 seats in Bengal. We are also participating in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya. There’s been no change in this position,” stated Derek O’Brien.

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Earlier on Friday, the Congress indicated that seat-sharing discussions between the two parties were back on track, despite TMC’s earlier announcement of going solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in April-May.

In other regions, the Congress has already forged alliances. In Uttar Pradesh, the party has partnered with the Samajwadi Party, with Congress contesting 17 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats, while the Samajwadi Party will contest 63 seats.

Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, the Congress is in alliance with Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Discussions to finalize Lok Sabha seats are currently underway between the Congress and its allies in the state.

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In Delhi, out of the seven Lok Sabha seats, it’s reported that AAP will contest four seats, while Congress will contest three.

Mamata Banerjee had previously stated that talks with the Congress failed after the latter rejected an offer she made. She also cited delays in finalizing a seat-sharing agreement. Additionally, she pledged not to ally with the Congress as long as it maintained ties with her bitter rival, the CPI(M).

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed that TMC had only offered two seats to his party. Derek O’Brien later attributed Chowdhury as one of the main reasons behind TMC’s decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls independently.