Mamata Announces to Fight Alone, No Tie Up Of TMC & Congress in Bengal

Kolkata: Giving a jolt to the future of the INDIA alliance, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday declared to contest the elections for Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own.

The TMC will only consider a pan-India alliance with the Congress after the Lok Sabha election results are declared, a furious Mamata Banerjee declared Wednesday.

Mamata’s statement hinted that the Congress and the TMC, two important members of the INDIA opposition bloc are not going to reach any agreement.

Mamata said, “I had no discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I gave them (the Congress) many proposals… but they rejected them. I am not concerned about what will be done in the (rest of the) country… but we are a secular party and, in Bengal, we alone will defeat BJP.”

In further signs of fraying tempers, she also hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, “They are coming to my state… but did not have courtesy to inform me, even though I am part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no relations with me, as far as Bengal is concerned,” she told newsmen.

“INDIA will be present in India (but) in Bengal the Trinamool Congress will fight. In Bengal it is only Trinamool that can teach the BJP a lesson. It can show the country the path to victory…” she had said.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is with Rahul Gandhi and the yatra in Assam, said his party “cannot imagine INDIA bloc without Mamataji”. Mr Ramesh insisted “all INDIA partners will unitedly fight Lok Sabha polls in Bengal”.