Amid the ongoing turmoil within the I.N.D.I. Alliance of the opposition parties, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee said that her party is ready to contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state if due importance is not given to her party. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed her stand during the organisational meeting of the Murshidabad district unit of the party. Murshidabad has a significant minority population and is traditionally seen as a Congress stronghold.
The district of Murshidabad comprises three Lok Sabha constituencies – Jangipur, Behrampur, and Murshidabad. In the 2019 elections, the Congress secured victory in the Behrampur seat, while the remaining two were claimed by the TMC. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been an MP from Behrampur since 1999.
According to reports, Mamata Banerjee told her party workers in this meeting, “If you all fight unitedly, you can defeat Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.” A TMC leader reportedly said, “She (Mamata Banerjee) said that Trinamool Congress is one of the biggest partners of the I.N.D.I. Alliance. In Bengal, if we are excluded and more importance is given to RSP, CPI, and CPI(M), we will pave our own path. If Congress favours anyone else in Bengal, Trinamool will think for itself. Preparations should be made to fight in all the 42 constituencies in the state.”
Party leaders have conveyed that Mamata Banerjee indicated the possibility of the TMC contesting the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal independently, as seat-sharing discussions are still pending finalisation. Reportedly, she asked party members to prepare for potential participation in all 42 constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Another TMC leader reportedly said, “Our party chief has said we need to prepare to win all three Lok Sabha seats in Murshidabad district. When one of our MLAs, Humayun Kabir, pointed out that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was a factor in a minority-dominated district, Banerjee refused to give much importance to the claim and said the TMC would succeed if it fought unitedly.”
Cracks within the I.N.D.I. alliance have become apparent, notably between prominent partners Congress and TMC, over seat-sharing arrangements for the imminent Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. Tensions escalated as the TMC’s proposal of two seats, determined by Congress’ 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, was considered inadequate by Congress. Banerjee’s comments closely follow remarks from Chowdhury, a vocal TMC critic, who asserted that the Congress would not “beg” for seats from the Trinamool Congress.