1. TMC decides to contest Bengal Lok Sabha polls independently.
2. Mamata Banerjee reveals offering Congress two seats in Malda.
3. Seat-sharing talks collapse as Congress insists on more seats, rejected by Banerjee.
Kolkata, Jan 31: In the aftermath of the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) decision to contest the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal independently, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee disclosed that her party had extended an offer of two seats to the Congress in Malda.
However, the seat-sharing talks collapsed as the Congress insisted on more seats, a demand Mamata Banerjee rejected.
Highlighting the context, Mamata Banerjee emphasized that the TMC suggested the Congress be allotted two seats in Malda, considering the party’s absence in the West Bengal assembly with no MLAs.
Expressing her sentiments, Banerjee stated, “I will never forgive the CPM, the party which had tortured me a lot. Those who are now with the CPM are with the BJP. I will never forgive them. I told the Congress that since they did not have a single MLA in the assembly, we said we would give two MP seats in Malda.”
“We told them that we would help them win. They rejected our demand and said they wanted more seats. But, I told them I would not give a single seat unless they left the CPM,” she added.
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Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, revealed that despite repeated reminders over seven months, the Congress remained inactive in finalizing the seat-sharing agreement.
The TMC leader noted that the seat-sharing issue was raised during INDIA bloc meetings in Patna, Bengaluru, and the last meeting in Delhi.
Abhishek Banerjee emphasized that according to alliance norms, sealing the seat-sharing agreement should have been prioritized.
Despite waiting for seven months since July of the previous year, the Congress failed to make progress, leading to multiple discussions with senior Congress leaders.
Mamata Banerjee had set a deadline of December 31 for finalizing the seat-sharing talks, but the Congress did not comply, abstaining from any constructive conversation during the last meeting in Delhi.
