Murshidabad (West Bengal): Claiming that the ruling Trinamool Congress is in a "dilemma" over the alliance, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday said the grand old party has initiated talks with the CPM for a possible seat-sharing agreement in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress party office in Murshidabad, Chowdhury said, "They (TMC) are in a dilemma. There should be an official yes or no from the party Supremo (Mamata Banerjee). They are not saying officially that the process of forging the alliance has ended. Because they are in a dilemma," the state Congress chief said.
He further said that TMC is unable to decide on the alliance because of their dilemma while hinting at ongoing dialogue between the parties. "The first dilemma is a section of the party believes that if they contest alone, without the INDIA alliance, then the minorities of West Bengal will vote against them. One section of the TMC wants the alliance to continue. Another section is in another dilemma that if the alliance is given more importance in Bengal, then the Modi government will use ED, and CBI against them. Because of these two dilemmas, the TMC has not been able to make a clear decision. Maybe there are some talks in Delhi, but I don't have any such information," he said.
TMC MP Santanu Sen alleged that Chowdhury has been “giving oxygen to the BJP” by maligning the TMC. “Adhir Chowdhury should first clear his stand. Everyone knows that for the past few years, he has been doing everything possible to malign the anti-BJP force TMC and give oxygen to the BJP,” he said.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee broke ties with the Congress, stating that the party will go solo in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls, giving a big dent to the opposition INDIA bloc. "I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat the BJP," the TMC supremo said.
Meanwhile, after weeks of suspense and wrangling over the allotment of seats in the national capital ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, INDIA partners AAP and Congress earlier in the day announced a seat-sharing pact for Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Chandigarh and Goa.
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