The issue of seat sharing between the Indian alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal is not being resolved.
Earlier TMC had said that it would not field its candidates on the existing two Congress seats in West Bengal.
On Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee told her party leaders in an internal meeting that TMC can contest all 42 seats in the state.
TMC officials said Banerjee made the statement behind closed doors at her south Kolkata residence, where she had called leaders from Murshidabad district to discuss the strategy for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
TMC can contest elections on all 42 seats: Mamta
Let us tell you that Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Choudhary has been winning the Berhampur Lok Sabha seat of Murshidabad since 1999. According to the 2011 census, the district has the highest Muslim population in Bengal at 66.28%.
However, like CPI(M), Congress could not win a single assembly seat in Bengal in 2021. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a senior TMC leader said, “In the meeting, when Bharatpur MLA Humayun Kabir said that the presence of Adhir Ranjan Choudhary was a big factor in Murshidabad, Banerjee got furious.
He told Kabir in an angry tone that Choudhary is not a factor at all as TMC won all the assembly constituencies in his constituency in 2021 and also won the other two Lok Sabha seats in the district – Murshidabad and Jangipur in 2019. “Mamata Banerjee said in the same breath that TMC can contest all 42 seats in Bengal,” the leader said.
After the meeting, Kabir said the same thing in front of the media. He said, “TMC is far ahead of Congress in Berhampur, Murshidabad and Jangipur in terms of vote share in the 2021 elections. Chaudhary is working like an agent of Bharatiya Janata Party. That is not a factor. TMC can win all 42 seats in Bengal.”
Although Congress and CPI(M) had earlier said that the India alliance model would not work in Bengal as they are opposed to both TMC and BJP, things took a new turn on December 19 when alliance leaders met in Delhi. Hui.
At the meeting, Banerjee said she would not field candidates from Malda South seat in Berhampur and neighboring Malda district, which has been held by the Congress since 2009.
Tension increased between Adhri and Mamta
Malda district has the second largest Muslim population in Bengal. Abu Hasem Khan Choudhary, one of the two brothers of former Union Minister ABA Ghani Khan Choudhary, holds the Malda South seat.
However, after being offered seats by Mamata, Adhir Ranjan Choudhary did not shy away from giving a statement against her. He said that he does not need TMC’s bailout. A few days ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Bengal, developments on Friday marked a twist in the ongoing tussle over seat sharing.
Choudhary recently traveled to Manipur and held a meeting with Rahul Gandhi. He said on Tuesday that it would not be difficult to resolve differences with other parties on seat sharing.
However, he did not specifically name Bengal. Some Congress leaders said Choudhary has been advised not to speak publicly against TMC and Banerjee.
Adhir Ranjan Choudhary could not be contacted till 8 pm on Friday but one of his close aides, former Murshidabad MLA and senior PCC leader Manoj Chakraborty, opposed Banerjee.
Chakraborty said, “Whether Mamata Banerjee fields 42 or 442 candidates is not an issue, but Chaudhary is definitely a factor. This was proved when Congress won the Sagardighi assembly by-election in Murshidabad last year by defeating TMC. “Banerjee’s statement has exposed their fears.”