Mamata to go it solo in Bengal

Kolkata: TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday asserted that her party, a partner of the opposition bloc INDIA on the national stage, will contest the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal and asserted that her party will confront not only the BJP but also the CPM and Congress in the state. Addressing a huge gathering at the Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata, where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) unveiled its candidate lineup for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee praised the recently resigned Election Commissioner Arun Goel for “not succumbing” to what she described as BJP’s attempts at coercion.

The Chief Minister said, “I will never allow opening of detention camps and implementation of the NRC in West Bengal.” The TMC will lead the way for the entire country in defeating the BJP, she claimed.

“We will contest the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal alone and will fight against the Congress, BJP, and the CPM. We will also contest elections in Assam and Meghalaya. We are in talks with Akhilesh Yadav (of SP) for contesting one Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh,” she stated during the ‘Jana Garjan Sabha’.

In January, Banerjee had declared that her party would contest the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal independently, rebuffing efforts by Congress leadership to negotiate a seat-sharing agreement.

The decision by Trinamool Congress to go solo in Bengal has set the stage for a three-way electoral battle, with TMC and BJP poised to vie for voter support.

The Congress-Left alliance, as the third contender, holds the potential to impact the votes of both TMC and BJP, especially in minority-dominated areas and constituencies with narrow margins.

Banerjee interpreted Goel’s sudden resignation as evidence of BJP’s attempt to manipulate the elections. “I salute Arun Goel for not succumbing to pressure by Delhi leaders (of BJP) and his top bosses in connection with the West Bengal LS polls and the deployment of forces. It is proven that what they (the BJP-led NDA government) want to do in the name of the election. They want to loot votes,” she remarked.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his allegations that central funds are being siphoned off in West Bengal, the TMC supremo said, “The PM must cross-check facts with officials before making baseless allegations against Bengal.” “We have constructed houses from funds. He is only inaugurating projects in Bengal but not releasing funds for the state. This is his guarantee. He has made all false promises,” she said.

Continuing her criticism of the Centre over fund withholding, Banerjee highlighted the delay in disbursing wages under the MGNREGA scheme. “The 59 lakh job card holders from Bengal were not paid their MGNREGA wages after working for two years. It is the TMC government who had paid the wages from the state treasury,” she asserted.