INDIA bloc in turmoil as Congress and TMC clash over seat sharing in Bengal
INDIA alliance as its two key allies, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress, on Thursday clashed over seat sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, «The grand old party won't beg for seats from the TMC,» drawing a response from the Mamata Banerjee-led party, which said, «Badmouthing alliance partners and seat sharing can't go hand in hand.»
Chowdhury, a staunch critic of the TMC, launched a no-holds-barred attack, accusing Bengal's ruling party of being busy «serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi» rather than strengthening the opposition alliance.
His remarks prompted a sharp reaction from the TMC, which criticised Chowdhury for making «callous remarks» and cautioned the Congress high command to rein in their state president.
Seat sharing between the two parties has been a bone of contention, with media reports suggesting that the TMC is keen to allocate only two seats, a proposition unacceptable to the Congress Bengal unit.
In the 2019 elections, the TMC won 22 seats, the Congress won two (Behrampore and Malda South), and the BJP secured 18.
The war of words, brewing for the past few days, took an ugly turn on Thursday after Chowdhury slammed the TMC for not being serious about allying with the Congress in Bengal.
«The TMC is not serious about strengthening or forging an alliance in Bengal. The TMC is busy pleasing and serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi to protect themselves from the clutches of the CBI and the ED,» he told reporters in his constituency.
