In a major setback to the opposition INDIA alliance, the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday said that it will contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. TMC MP Derek O’Brien confirmed this development and added that the party is also in the fray in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya.
Addressing the media, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien reiterated Mamata Banerjee’s earlier announcement, stating, “A few weeks ago, the TMC Chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that TMC is fighting all the 42 seats in Bengal. We are also in the fray in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya. There is no change in this position.” This reaffirms Mamata Banerjee’s consistent stand on fighting alone in Bengal.
Earlier, Mamata Banerjee severed ties with the Congress, asserting that TMC would go solo in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls, dealing a substantial blow to the opposition INDIA bloc. She emphasized, “I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country, but we are a secular party, and in Bengal, we will alone defeat the BJP.”
