TMC offers 2 Lok Sabha seats to INDIA bloc’s ally Congress in Bengal: report
The Trinamool Congress has offered two West Bengal Lok Sabha seats to its INDIA ally Congress for the upcoming general elections.
Lok Sabha elections 2024: Congress has been offered two Lok Sabha seats for next year’s general elections in West Bengal by its INDIA block partner Trinamool Congress (TMC), as the Mamata Banerjee-led party believes that the dominant party in the state is the one should be the one to take the lead. distribution of seats in their dominant region.
Citing sources, India Today reported that the TMC’s seat allocation to the Congress is based on a “clear formula” that takes into account the elections to the Parliament and the state assembly.
The TMC believes that the ruling regional party should be allowed to decide the number of seats in their state, the sources said, the report said.
Kharge better choice as INDIA chairman: TMC
According to the report, the TMC also reiterated its position on Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge as its preference as INDIA bloc chairman as it believes Kharge would have a better impact in the role than Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose name was mentioned recently. suggested as the likely candidate for the role.
They said Kharge, who belongs to the Dalit community, can influence around 58 seats and as such should be preferred.
The INDIA bloc at its last meeting in Delhi had decided to conclude seat-sharing talks for next year’s elections at the earliest, while the TMC had sought December 31, 2023 as the deadline for resolving the seat-sharing talks.
However, nothing concrete has been achieved yet as the opposition bloc has not yet reached a consensus on the issue.
Internal strife leaves TMC in disarray ahead of LS polls
Meanwhile, internal divisions within the TMC ranks continue to widen, with senior party leaders trading verbal attacks on Wednesday even as the party leadership made a subtle appeal to put aside grievances and focus on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The recent controversy emerged after West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in November advocated the need to show due respect to senior members and rejected the idea that senior leaders should retire from active politics.
The TMC divide
Following this, TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who is Mamata Banerjee’s cousin, proposed a retirement age in politics, citing declining work efficiency and productivity with age. The party has since become a battleground for accusations and counter-accusations between senior and junior leaders.
Tensions reached a new low when five-time TMC MLA Tapas Ray criticized veteran leader and TMC’s Lok Sabha party leader Sudip Bandopadhyay, accusing him of endangering the party’s interests for personal political gain.
Ray emphasized: “We are loyal soldiers of the TMC. We gave our whole lives for the party. We have not been infected nor have we been in prison on corruption charges.”
Referring to Bandopadhyay’s earlier arrest in the Rose Valley scam in January 2017, Ray questioned his contributions to the party and accused him of insulting old and proven party workers.
Ray said, “What has he done for the party apart from insulting old and tried party workers? He is now trying to create division within the party. The kind of insult he has hurled at me over the past fifteen years is unacceptable. I want justice.”
In response, senior TMC minister Firhad Hakim urged everyone not to make such comments in the public domain and instead address issues through internal discussions within the party.
“Everyone should stop making such comments in public domain and resolve issues through discussions within the party,” he said.
Calls for unity
At a closed-door organizational meeting with the Bankura district unit, TMC leader Subrata Bakshi encouraged the party workers to put aside their grievances and work unitedly for the party.
The debate gained momentum on Monday when TMC state president Subrata Bakshi, known for his loyalty to Mamata Banerjee, expressed hope that Abhishek Banerjee would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with Mamata Banerjee’s photo and not shy away from the field.
He said, “Abhishek Banerjee is our national general secretary. Of course, if Abhishek contests this election, we are sure that he will not withdraw from the fray. If he fights, he will fight with Mamata Banerjee’s photo and party symbol.
Bakshi’s statement drew objections from the party’s state secretary general Kunal Ghosh, who called for its withdrawal.
Ghosh emphasized, “I respect the state president but I have objections to his formulation of words. It is never desired. Abhishek is still in the fight. If the party listens to what he (Abhishek) wants to say, it will be good for the party.”
In November, Ghosh, who is also the party spokesperson, addressed rumors of a power struggle, asserting that there is no conflict between the old and new factions, stressing the need for both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee for the party.
Old guard fights younger faction
This ongoing controversy is reminiscent of a two-year internal struggle within the TMC between the old guard and the younger faction.
Amid rumors of an alleged power struggle in January 2022, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee dissolved all national office-bearer committees, including her cousin Abhishek Banerjee’s post of national general secretary.
Subsequently, a new committee was formed and Abhishek was reinstated as the party’s national general secretary.
Since then, Abhishek has not only gained prominence within the party but is also considered the de facto number two in the state’s ruling dispensation.
(With PTI inputs)