Mamata decides to fight LS polls alone in Bengal, Congress says “unilateral announcement”

In a big blow to the Congress and the INDIA bloc, the Trinamool Congress on Sunday announced the list of the candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal as the Mamata Banerjee-led party decided to fight the upcoming elections alone in the State.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the Trinamool congress for not going for seat-sharing with his party in Bengal, calling Banerjee’s decision “unilateral announcements”

Launching its Lok Sabha polls campaign with a grand rally at Kolkata’s historic Brigade parade ground, the ruling Trinamool Congress in the State brought in 26 new faces, who did not fight last elections in 2019, in its candidate list for this time.

In a surprise move, the party fielded former cricketer and all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, who had played for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), from Berhampore, which has been a stronghold for senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Nominations

The Trinamool Congress also nominated former cricketer Kirti Azad. The party renominated 16 sitting MPs and fielded 12 women.

“It will be TMC versus BJP in Bengal. Here our fight against Congress and CPM will continue. Trinamul will fight alone in Bengal. Our party will also fight in Assam and UP. In UP for one seat we have spoken with Akhilesh Yadav. We are the Opposition in Meghalaya, where we will fight. And, it is the Trinamool Congress which will decide on the country’s roadmap going forward. Bengal will show the path,” said Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister of West Bengal, while addressing the “Jana Garjan Sabha” rally here.

“You had given 18 seats to the BJP last time (in 2019 LS polls) from West Bengal. They also got many seats in Assembly polls (in 2021). But, they did not do any work. The BJP leaders, who went to Delhi, said they would not give money for the 100-day work (under MGNREGA), housing projects and road projects, among others, to the States. Then why will you give vote to them (BJP)?,” she said to the massive gathering at the Brigade parade ground.

Trinamool Congress has been alleging that the Central government continued to deny the state’s rights in a federal polity by depriving the citizens from their entitlements under MGNREGA, Prime Minister Awas Yojna and Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojna.

The BJP has been accusing the State government of widespread corruption and economic mismanagement. After the Trinamool Congress decided to fight the upcoming elections alone in West Bengal, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements. The Indian National Congress has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together.”

Congress reaction

Commenting on former cricketer Yusuf Pathan’s nomination for the LS polls, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said if the Trinamool Congress wanted to “honour” Pathan, then the party should have sent him to the Rajya Sabha.

Referring to Banerjee’s decision on announcing the list of the candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the State, Chowdhury alleged that she has “proven today that none of the political parties of India should trust a leader like her.”