Congress pushes for 10 Bengal seats amid discord with Trinamool
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Kolkata: Amid negotiations for seat sharing in the upcoming general elections, the Congress aims to secure 10 seats in West Bengal, including the two it previously won, despite facing setbacks in recent state polls.
Both the Congress and Trinamool Congress are engaged in tense discussions over the seat-sharing arrangement. Sources indicate a deadlock between the parties due to their unwavering stances.
"The Congress is adamant about securing 10 seats, including the two previously won," party sources told NDTV. However, Trinamool is firm in its stance, expressing an inability to allocate more than two seats, citing the Congress' previous victories.
Notably, Congress insiders have pointed out the Trinamool's loss of 18 seats to the BJP in the 2019 elections, potentially leveraging this as a negotiating point in the ongoing discussions.
In the previous 2019 polls, Trinamool clinched 22 seats, Congress secured two (Behrampore and Malda South), and the BJP captured 18.
However, in the 2021 Bengal polls, Congress faced a defeat, failing to secure any seats.
The negotiations have not only encountered hurdles in seat allotment but also witnessed verbal sparring between the parties' leaders.
State Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's statement last week, indicating the party's refusal to "beg for seats," was met with a swift response from Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, cautioning against negative remarks amid alliance talks.
Chowdhury also accused the ruling Trinamool of focusing on serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead of strengthening the opposition alliance, drawing criticism from the Trinamool camp, which urged the Congress leadership to rein in its state chief.
Amid these tensions, the INDIA bloc, a coalition of like-minded parties aiming to counter the BJP, seeks to finalise seat-sharing agreements.
Mamata Banerjee emphasised the INDIA alliance's presence nationwide, asserting Trinamool's resolve to confront and defeat the BJP in Bengal, highlighting their strength against the ruling party in the state.