Lok Sabha polls: TMC offers 2 seats, Cong seeks more

Trinamool Congress, a key constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, has offered the Congress two of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies as part of its bid to seal a seat-sharing agreement with the party

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), a key constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, has offered the Congress two of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies as part of its bid to seal a seat-sharing agreement with the party, said people aware of the matter.

HT Image

However, leaders of the Bengal Congress, in a meeting with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, said that they expect at least six or eight seats in the eastern state.

The TMC made the offer on the sidelines of the Opposition bloc’s meeting in Delhi on Tuesday, said a party functionary.

TMC won 22 of the state’s 42 seats in the 2019 general elections, marginally inching out the BJP, which sprung a surprise, winning 18 constituencies. The Congress won the remaining two seats.

“Bengal Congress leaders told the high command they expect six to eight seats from the Trinamool in an alliance,” said a leader present in the meeting.

A senior TMC leader said, “The Congress doesn’t have any MLAs in the state. It has only two MPs. If you look at any seat-sharing formula, the Congress shouldn’t get more than two Lok Sabha seats in the event of an alliance.”

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury are the Congress party’s two parliamentarians from West Bengal.

In the meeting on Wednesday, many leaders from Bengal said they were unsure if the Congress’s votes would be transferred to the TMC. Some leaders asked the party’s high command to extract a few seats in the greater Kolkata region.

But Kharge, according to two leaders, said, “We understand the ground situation, but have to defeat the BJP.”