Trinamool Congress (TMC) president Mamata Banerjee declared that her party is prepared to run for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state if proper consideration is not given to her party, amidst the current strife within the opposition parties’ I.N.D.I. Alliance. During the party’s Murshidabad district unit’s organisational meeting, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee voiced her position. Murshidabad is regarded as a Congress stronghold and has a sizable minority population.
The three Lok Sabha seats of Jangipur, Behrampur, and Murshidabad make up the district of Murshidabad. The TMC claimed the other two seats in the 2019 elections, with the Congress winning the Behrampur seat. Since 1999, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has represented Behrampur as an MP.
Mamata Banerjee reportedly said to her party workers during this meeting, “You can defeat Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury if you fight together.” “She (Mamata Banerjee) said that the Trinamool Congress is one of the biggest partners of the I.N.D.I. Alliance,” a TMC leader reportedly stated. We will forge ahead in Bengal if we are left out and RSP, CPI, and CPI (M) are given greater weight. Trinamool will make its own decisions if the Congress gives preference to someone else in Bengal. It is necessary to get ready to battle in each of the state’s 42 constituencies.
Party leaders have communicated that, while seat-sharing negotiations are still ongoing, Mamata Banerjee suggested that the TMC might run independently in the West Bengal Lok Sabha elections. She reportedly advised party members to get ready in case they wanted to run in any of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.
According to reports, a different TMC leader stated, “We need to get ready to win all three Lok Sabha seats in Murshidabad district, according to our party head. Banerjee denied giving any weight to the argument made by one of our MLAs, Humayun Kabir, that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was a factor in a district dominated by minorities and asserted that the TMC would prevail if it fought together.
Dissension within the I.N.D.I. alliance has surfaced, particularly between leading allies Congress and TMC regarding seat-sharing plans for the upcoming West Bengal Lok Sabha elections. As Congress deemed the TMC’s offer of two seats, which was based on the party’s performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, insufficient, tensions increased. The statements made by prominent TMC critic Chowdhury, who said that the Congress will not “beg” for seats from the Trinamool Congress, are shortly followed by Banerjee’s remarks.