The Trinamool Congress, extending a proposal to the Congress for an alliance in West Bengal, has designated two Lok Sabha seats for cooperation. Despite initial discussions with the Congress’s national alliance committee hitting an impasse, avenues for dialogue between the top leadership of both parties remain open, as disclosed by sources familiar with the matter to Hindustan Times.
The Congress presently occupies both seats offered by the TMC, posing a challenge for the party to endorse the arrangement, as highlighted by a member of the Congress alliance panel. Additionally, the TMC has expressed interest in securing a seat in Meghalaya, citing its 13.8% vote share in the preceding assembly elections, marginally surpassing that of the Congress, as per the report.
Led by Congress stalwart Mukul Wasnik, the national alliance committee has already engaged with the Janata Dal (United), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, Shiv Sena (Uddhav), Nationalist Congress Party, and Samajwadi Party to explore seat-sharing discussions.
A senior TMC legislator, integral to the party’s strategy, remarked, “The offer of two seats by the TMC, grounded in data and the prevailing situation in Bengal, was conveyed to the Congress three weeks ago. Consequently, any further interactions with a committee would be unproductive at this juncture,” as reported by Hindustan Times.
During the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting in New Delhi on December 19, Banerjee engaged in discussions about seat allocation with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Banerjee proffered the two seats currently held by the Congress in Bengal—Maldah Dakshin and Baharampur.
Two Congress leaders expressed reservations about accepting the TMC’s proposal in Bengal, citing that the party secured victory in those two seats while contending with both the TMC and the BJP.
