In a dramatic turn of events, the TMC, on Friday stated it will contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, a few in Assam and one seat in Meghalaya. The new development comes less than 24 hours after sources said the seat-sharing talks were back on track between the Mamata Banerjee-led party and the Congress.
The Congress and the TMC, which are part of the opposition bloc INDIA, are said to have revived their talks to unitedly fight against the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha polls, due in April-May.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien on Friday said there has been “no change” in the party’s stand of contesting all 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, a few in Assam and one seat in Meghalaya.
“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, ” O’Brien, the TMC leader in the Rajya Sabha, said.
Earlier in the day, sources in TMC said, “If Congress agrees to give one seat each in Assam and Meghalaya, TMC can think of giving a third seat in the state”.
TMC’s snub comes as seat-sharing talks in Delhi and UP are finalised, while a meeting for the same in Maharashtra is scheduled for February 27.
In Delhi, AAP will contest four seats, while Congress will fight over three seats, sources said. The two alliance partners are likely to make the decision public soon.
(With PTI inputs)
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