Congress-TMC alliance: Navigating mistrust amid BJP challenge
Congress unit appearing reluctant to engage in an electoral pact. With both the Congress and TMC key allies of INDIA opposition bloc, unofficial reports have indicated initiation of seat-sharing talks between the two.
The political landscape shifted notably when West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee expressed confidence in a three-way alliance involving the TMC, Congress, and the Left, eliciting mixed reactions from the CPI(M) and Congress in the eastern state.
According to TMC sources, the ruling party in Bengal is inclined to allocate four out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats to Congress.
Currently, the grand old party has two seats in West Bengal, both in minority-dominated districts of Malda and Murshidabad.
TMC MP Sougata Roy affirmed, «Our party supremo has said a three-way alliance is possible.
It reflects our commitment to fight and defeat the BJP in the next general elections.»
A senior TMC leader, who did not want to be named, said a Congress-TMC alliance could potentially secure 36-37 seats out of the 42 in the state, challenging the BJP's dominance in previous elections. The saffron camp had bagged 18 Lok Sabha seats from the state in 2019.
On Wednesday, the Bengal Congress leadership met the party high command in New Delhi to deliberate on the possibility of an alliance with the TMC.
Presently aligned with the CPI(M) in Bengal, the state Congress leadership remains cautious about allying with the Trinamool.
Both the parties have fought elections in an alliance — 2001 assembly polls, 2009 Lok Sabha elections and 2011 assembly polls.
In 2011, the Congress-TMC alliance beat the 34-year-old Left Front regime in West Bengal.
