Quit INDIA: Why Mamata Banerjee, Bhagwant Mann have decided to go solo in LS polls

The chinks in the INDIA bloc are out in the open. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (24 January) ruled out any alliance with the Congress in the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Hours after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo’s announcement, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann reportedly said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would contest all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Both developments come as a major setback for the INDIA alliance which will take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the coming general elections.

What is going on? Will the rift hurt the INDIA bloc’s chances? Let’s take a closer look.

Mamata Banerjee’s TMC to go solo

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said that no talks are going on with the Congress and her party will fight the general elections on its own.

“Amar kono kotha hoyni, amar karoro songe kotha hoyni. Kono charcha nei. Mithe kotha (I have had no talks, no talks with anyone… no talks at all. It’s all lies). Absolutely wrong,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

She said that TMC’s proposal offering two Lok Sabha seats in the state to Congress was rejected by the Grand Old Party after which her party decided to contest alone. Banerjee also hit out at the Congress for not informing her about the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is likely to enter Bengal on Thursday.

“They are coming to my state… but did not have courtesy to inform me, even though I am part of the INDIA bloc. So there is no relations with me, as far as Bengal is concerned,” she said, as per NDTV.

The West Bengal CM said that the issue of national alliance will be decided after the elections.

“Nationally, what we will do, not do, we will think after the elections. We are a secular party, we will do what is needed to thwart the BJP. But right now there are no discussions (on seat-sharing),” she reportedly said.

Banerjee further stated that the INDIA alliance did not involve just one party, adding that regional parties would stay united. “We have said that the Congress can fight 300 seats and the regional parties will fight in 72. The Congress should not interfere there. But if it does, we will see what is to be done,” Indian Express quoted the TMC supremo as saying.

Soon after Banerjee’s remarks, Congress tried to diffuse tensions. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said his party “cannot imagine INDIA bloc without Mamata_ji_”.

“When we are on a long journey, speed breaker comes, red light comes. Red light and speed breaker do not mean that the journey ends. Rahul Gandhi was asked the same question and he said that Mamata Banerjee is a key leader of the INDIA bloc. Mamata ji is also a tall leader of the country, West Bengal, Rahul Gandhi said. We can not imagine INDIA bloc without Mamata Banerjee,” the senior Congress leader said.

He insisted “all INDIA partners will unitedly fight Lok Sabha polls in Bengal”.

#WATCH | Barpeta, Assam | Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications, Jairam Ramesh says, "Mamata Banerjee said that we want to defeat BJP and we will do anything to defeat the BJP...Rahul Gandhi clearly said that Mamata ji and TMC are a very strong pillar of the INDIA… pic.twitter.com/jfRwxvv1S3

— ANI (@ANI) January 24, 2024

Congress’ KC Venugopal also asserted that there will be an alliance between the Grand Old Party and Trinamool in Bengal. “We will talk to TMC. Mamata Banerjee is a senior leader in INDIA alliance. These are small differences, will be sort them out,” he said.

Is there a rift between Congress and TMC?

Banerjee’s announcement comes amid a widening strain in ties between TMC and the West Bengal Congress led by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Both the leaders have taken potshots at each other on several occasions, with Chowdhury saying there was no question of his party accepting TMC’s offer of two seats.

“We will not contest the elections at the mercy of Mamata Banerjee. Congress knows how to contest elections on its own, and the two seats we have won (in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal) were by defeating Mamata and BJP. Mamta is an opportunist; she herself came to power in 2011, with the mercy of Congress,” he told reporters a day back.

VIDEO | “We will not contest the elections at the mercy of Mamata Banerjee. Congress knows how to contest elections on its own, and the two seats we have won (in 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal) were by defeating Mamata and BJP. Mamta is an opportunist; she herself came to… pic.twitter.com/LjWoVGgY35

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 23, 2024

As per NDTV, senior Congress leaders want to tie up with the TMC in Bengal. However, some party leaders in Bengal, including Chowdhury, want to ally with the Left, which is also part of the INDIA bloc, leading to tensions with Banerjee’s party.

Earlier, the West Bengal CM had reportedly hit out at Congress over its “unjustified” demand for 10-12 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the TMC had won 22 seats out of the 42 seats, the BJP 18, the Congress two, and the Left drew a blank.

On Tuesday, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had downplayed tensions between his party and TMC over seat sharing. Speaking to mediapersons in Assam on the sidelines of his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, he said, “Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party”.

He added that it is “natural” for the two sides to face minor tiffs. “But they are not going to disrupt the relations between the Congress and the TMC,” NDTV quoted him as saying.

Will strained ties hurt INDIA?

After Banerjee’s stern remarks, CM Mann said that AAP will contest all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. “The Aam Aadmi Party has shortlisted 40 candidates for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab. We are getting a survey done before finalising candidates,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.

This comes after Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Raja Singh Warring told the media earlier this month that he had not received any message from the party high command on an alliance with AAP in the state. He said that the state Congress unit was preparing to contest all Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Like in Bengal, there has been constant sparring between leaders of the Congress and the ruling party in Punjab. Congress’ Punjab unit is also opposed to an alliance at the state level, noted NDTV.

The INDIA bloc is also facing troubles in Bihar where the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have reportedly moved forward in seat-sharing talks without the Congress. “We have almost sealed the seat-sharing deals in the state. As of now, we do not see the INDIA bloc going anywhere. We are now looking at a post-poll coalition. We, along with the JD(U), will defeat the BJP in Bihar, as our survey says that there can be a bipolar fight between us and the BJP over four seats, while we have an edge on 36 seats," a senior RJD leader told News18. 

Regional parties in the INDIA grouping, particularly TMC, AAP and Samajwadi Party, have been calling for leading roles in their respective strongholds. However, Congress has refused to relent so far during seat-sharing talks at the state level.

It remains to be seen if Congress will be able to sort out these differences with its INDIA partners before the crucial Lok Sabha elections in the summer. Any rift within the bloc could affect the bloc’s prospects, splitting anti-BJP votes.

With inputs from agencies