West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury intensified his criticism of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the allocation of constituencies for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Accusing Banerjee of opportunism, Chowdhury declared that the elections would not be dependent on her goodwill.
“This time, the elections won’t be subject to Mamata Banerjee’s whims. Congress emerged victorious against the BJP and TMC in the two seats vacated by Mamata Banerjee. The Congress party knows how to contest elections. Mamata Banerjee is an opportunist; she ascended to power in 2011, thanks to Congress,” stated the state Congress president during a press conference.
Chowdhury’s comments followed closely after Rahul Gandhi, a party leader, downplayed the significance of the criticism, asserting that Mamata Banerjee is “very close” to him, and the state Congress chief’s remarks on seat-sharing won’t disrupt the ongoing negotiations.
“The discussions on seat-sharing are ongoing, and I won’t comment on that here. But Mamata Banerjee is close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say things, their leaders say things, and it continues. Such comments won’t have a significant impact, and they won’t disrupt the process,” said Gandhi during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The issue revolves around the distribution of seats, with both Congress and TMC forming part of the INDIA bloc committed to challenging the Bharatiya Janata Party in the upcoming general election. However, disagreements over seat-sharing at the state level have emerged, with the Congress expected to receive only two out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, based on its 2019 poll victories. Official discussions on seat-sharing are pending, but the TMC has proposed that allocations should be determined by each party’s performance.
In response, Mamata Banerjee criticized the Congress for causing delays in seat-sharing discussions, citing an “unjustified” demand for 10-12 Lok Sabha constituencies.
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