As the TMC has reiterated to go it alone in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, the State Congress said it is in talks with the CPI(M) for seat sharing in the State.  The Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M) are constituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc.

Reacting to a statement by TMC leader Derek O’Brien, who claimed that the TMC’s stance towards the Congress in Bengal remained unchanged, Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury on Saturday said, “I had no information about who said what... I only know that they have decided to go it alone in Bengal... But one thing is for sure: we are proceeding with our talks with the CPI(M).”

On Friday, O’Brien had reiterated that his party had not deviated from what the Chief Minister had said a month ago regarding the alliance talks.

“A few weeks ago... Mamata said the TMC is contesting all 42 seats in Bengal. We are also contesting a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya. There is no change in this position,” he had said.

In Bengal, the Congress has been requesting 6-8 seats, while the TMC has offered only two seats, Behrampore and Malda South, currently held by Adhir Chowdhury and AH Khan Chowdhury.

In a sharp attack on the TMC, the PCC president highlighted how Mamata’s party was caught between losing minority votes on one side and facing ED and CBI raids on the other.

“Mamata had made it clear that her party will contest the elections alone,” he said, adding, “They (TMC) are in a dilemma because if they leave the INDIA alliance they will lose the minority votes… whereas if they don’t do so and go ahead with the alliance then the Narendra Modi Government will send ED and CBI to their houses … this is the reason why the TMC is vertically divided in two groups… while one section wants the alliance to continue, the other is in a dilemma.”

Reminding how Mamata had declared that she would go it alone in Bengal, Chowdhury said, “Irrespective or who says what we are going ahead with our talks with the CPI(M) and I am already in the midst of seat-sharing talks with their State secretary Md Salim.”

Meanwhile the Congress national leadership, however, continued to go soft on the TMC saying their doors were still open to her.

“Our doors are always open for the TMC. Mamata and the TMC have said they want to strengthen INDIA Alliance and the biggest motive is to defeat the BJP… Heated discussions keep taking place between the two parties but we respect Mamata,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.