Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has set a “non-negotiable” seat–sharing deadline of 31 December for the Congress, leaders from West Bengal’s ruling get together instructed ThePrint. It additionally introduced a three-way components to resolve seat-sharing numbers through the INDIA alliance assembly in Delhi Tuesday.
“We have suggested that while deciding the seats, the parties should look at either the 2019 Lok Sabha results in their states or the last legislative poll results, or a third way by looking at both Lok Sabha and state poll results to decide how many seats can be shared amongst the opposition parties,” a senior TMC chief instructed ThePrint.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s get together had secured a landslide victory within the state polls in 2021, demolishing the Congress and CPIM, each now a part of the INDIA entrance. For the primary time in Bengal politics, each Congress and CPIM don’t have any MLAs within the state legislative meeting. The TMC had registered an all-time excessive 47.9 p.c votes by securing 213 seats out of 294. The BJP rose because the principal opposition get together with 77 seats for the primary time within the state.
TMC sources mentioned that the get together was prepared to present two seats to the Congress in West Bengal — Berhampore, from the place state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been successful since 1999, and Malda Dakshin, from the place veteran Congress chief Abu Hasem Khan has been elected MP since 2009, after the delimitation of Malda district.
The TMC has additionally demanded one seat from the Congress in Meghalaya, which sends two MPs to the Lok Sabha from Tura and Shillong.
The Congress, nevertheless, is eyeing no less than six Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. Senior get together MP Pradip Bhattacharya instructed ThePrint that he has recommended six seats — Murshidabad, Berhampore, Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Darjeeling, Purulia — to the Congress excessive command for the get together to struggle from within the 2024 polls.
Lower than 24 hours after the INDIA meet, West Bengal Congress leaders had a gathering with get together president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi on seat sharing.
“The meeting of West Bengal leaders in New Delhi was to put forward the views we have individually about seat sharing in West Bengal, before negotiations begin. In politics, nothing is impossible. Let us see the outcome of the Congress meeting in New Delhi, we want to fight in at least six seats in West Bengal, our goal is to defeat the BJP,” Bhattacharya instructed ThePrint.
A senior TMC chief conscious of what transpired on the assembly in Delhi’s Ashoka Resort mentioned, “Congress should fight all out in states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka in about 300-odd seats.”
The TMC, it’s learnt, feels Akhilesh Yadav ought to resolve seat-sharing numbers for Uttar Pradesh, Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray ought to finalise Maharashtra seats, MK Stalin ought to resolve for Tamil Nadu and Mamata ought to have a look at West Bengal, whereas Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav ought to resolve Bihar seat sharing numbers.
“Why should TMC look at Tamil Nadu numbers or Uttar Pradesh numbers? It will be a waste of time. Instead, the leaders who are the strongest in these states amongst the opposition parties should be the ones deciding the numbers,” the senior TMC chief mentioned.
In the meantime, West Bengal BJP chief and MP Dr Sukanta Majumdar instructed reporters: “The Opposition will continue to hold meetings for eternity. In the meantime, PM Modi will take oath for the third time.”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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