INDIA Alliance? TMC Likely To Contest On All 42 LS Seats In Bengal

WEST BENGAL: Defying the Congress, a member of the INDIA bloc, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) is poised to nominate candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.

This encompasses the Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency, where the current MP is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the state president of Congress.

This decision emerged from a meeting between the Trinamool’s leadership and the district officials in Murshidabad.

Within Murshidabad district, there are three Lok Sabha seats—Jangipur, Berhampur, and Murshidabad. In the 2019 elections, Congress secured victory in the Berhampur seat, while the other two were claimed by the TMC.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has consistently held the Berhampur seat since 1999, making it a stronghold for the Congress.

This move is detrimental to the Congress, which had hoped for a more substantial share of seats in its alliance with the TMC. Initially, Mamata Banerjee’s party had offered only two seats to Congress in West Bengal.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP surprised many by winning 18 seats in Bengal. Out of the 42 seats, Congress secured only two, while the TMC claimed 22.

Reportedly, the Trinamool aimed to determine the seat-sharing arrangement based on the parties’ performance in the 2019 elections and the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls. The TMC argued that Congress had a vote share of less than 5 percent.

Last month, Mamata Banerjee unequivocally stated that there would be no seat-sharing agreement with Congress or the Left Front in the state.

During a rally, she declared that the TMC would contest alone in the state for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Emphasizing the party’s commitment to defeating the BJP in Bengal, she asserted that only the TMC could effectively counter the BJP in the state.

With inputs from the India Today.

ALSO READ || 2024 LS Polls: BJP Likely To Replace Karnataka MPs Over Age And Preparation