TMC 'already communicated' its views to I.N.D.I.A, sees no point in holding seat-sharing meet with Congress

While Trinamool acknowledged that it had spoken about leaving two seats to the ally, sources said the Congress has not communicated any number to the West Bengal party amid speculations that the grand old party demanded 9-12 seats.

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress does not see any meaning in holding a meeting with Congress’s National Alliance Committee when it has “already communicated” its views to its I.N.D.I.A partner on seat sharing in West Bengal for Lok Sabha elections, party sources said on Thursday.

The party’s stand comes at a time when the Congress panel has been initiating discussions with I.N.D.I.A allies from last Sunday and West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is continuously voicing his aversion to entering into an alliance with the Mamata Banerjee-led party.

While Trinamool acknowledged that it had spoken about leaving two seats to the ally, sources said the Congress has not communicated any number to the West Bengal party amid speculations that the grand old party has demanded 9-12 seats.

Without spelling out their demand, sources said Congress has told Trinamool that the offer is too low and difficult to accept.

Trinamool sources said there was no point in a senior leader flying to Delhi to meet the panel and repeat the proposal and rationale to earmark just two out of 42 seats to the Congress, which it won in 2019. They indicate Congress did not cross 5 per cent votes in 39 seats and “that is the reality”.

A senior Trinamool Congress leader, however, said that the party is “committed to I.N.D.I.A” but the Congress should acknowledge the “ground reality” in Bengal.

“We are very patient and gracious despite some unsavoury statements being made from the other side,” the leader said.

A senior Congress leader said that they would initiate talks with sulking JD(U) and Trinamool Congress in a day or two on seat sharing.

Trinamool sources said that only Mamata can decide on increasing the number of seats for Congress, indicating that the talks between Congress and Trinamool will now be held only at the highest level.

Sources also said Trinamool has sought a seat in Meghalaya as well as two in Assam. Trinamool's argument is that it has a larger vote share than Congress in Meghalaya in the last Assembly elections.

The Assam unit wanted four seats to contest but the party’s top leadership reined in them saying they had to be realistic in their demand. Similar was the case with the Goa unit, which wanted to fight one seat.

If Congress accommodates Trinamool in other states, sources indicated that there could be a sympathetic reconsideration in Bengal too though the leader denied “any quid pro quo” saying this is not how they deal with an ally.