kolkata: The Trinamool Congress has declared that the final decision on seat-sharing with the Congress in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls will be made by party chief Mamata Banerjee.
This statement comes as the Trinamool leadership offers the Congress two seats out of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
Kunal Ghosh, the spokesperson for the Trinamool, emphasised that the state unit of Congress cannot engage in unjustified bargaining regarding seat-sharing. The offer of two seats is based on the 2021 assembly poll results, where the Congress, in alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front, performed poorly.
"The Congress state unit cannot do unjustified bargaining on the matter," stated Kunal Ghosh.
All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba noted that discussions are ongoing for seat-sharing with constituents of the INDIA bloc in various states, including West Bengal, and the process will conclude soon.
"Mamata Banerjee is in communication with the INDIA bloc leadership, and nothing has been finalised yet. Mamata Banerjee will take the final call," Ghosh confirmed.
In a closed-door meeting with party leaders in Murshidabad district, Mamata Banerjee asserted that the Trinamool is prepared to independently contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state if not given due importance in the INDIA bloc.
The state leadership of the Congress, which was offered two seats by the Trinamool, is seeking additional constituencies. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress won only two seats out of the 42.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front, Congress, and the Trinamool are part of the opposition INDIA bloc.
Alka Lamba accused the BJP of "playing politics" over the Ram Temple issue and claimed that its construction was not yet complete. She expressed that the inauguration of the temple for political gain is happening despite its incomplete state.
Alka Lamba is in Siliguri for Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra,' which will soon enter north Bengal from Assam. She invited anyone to join the march by giving a missed call to a centralised mobile number.