Mamata Banerjee Clarifies No Bengal Alliance with Congress
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reaffirmed her party’s commitment to the Opposition’s INDIA bloc on Thursday, dispelling rumors of a potential split. This statement followed her previous day’s remark about the Trinamool Congress (TMC) offering external support to form a central government, which had led to speculation about TMC’s dedication to the alliance. Banerjee clarified that while TMC is firmly part of the INDIA bloc at the national level in Delhi, it does not have any local alliance with the Congress or the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) in Bengal.
Speaking at an election rally in Haldia, Mamata Banerjee accused the Congress and CPI(M) of working with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to fragment opposition votes in Bengal. She urged voters not to support these parties within the state, reiterating TMC’s national alignment with the INDIA bloc. “Attempts by the Congress and CPI(M), fuelled by BJP funds, to divide votes should be resisted. Do not vote for them here. I’ve made it clear that there’s no alliance in Bengal, but we are aligned in Delhi. We will remain so,” she stated. She emphasized her role in founding the INDIA alliance and her continued support for it, aiming to clear up any misunderstandings about TMC’s stance.
In contrast, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury voiced distrust in Banerjee’s intentions, accusing her of deserting the alliance. Chowdhury suggested that Banerjee might align with the BJP, citing her past comments that seemed to undermine the Congress’s electoral chances. “I don’t trust her. She left the alliance and ran away. She can also go towards the BJP… They were talking about destroying the Congress party and that Congress would not get more than 40 seats but now she is saying that it means that the Congress party and the alliance are coming to power,” Chowdhury commented.
Mamata Banerjee also used the rally to criticize the BJP over the contentious Nandigram seat result in the 2021 Assembly elections, where she narrowly lost to her former aide-turned-BJP candidate Suvendu Adhikari. She accused the BJP, with the Election Commission’s help, of manipulating the election outcome through administrative changes and a power outage on polling day. Banerjee vowed to seek justice, asserting that the result did not reflect Nandigram’s people’s will and promising to challenge it legally. “With the assistance of the Election Commission of India, the BJP changed the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. On polling day, they orchestrated a power outage, leading to a change in the results. I will seek justice for this injustice, be it tomorrow or the future. BJP will not stay forever, nor will agencies like the CBI or ED. My case is still pending in court, and I will seek justice. This isn’t the verdict of the people of Nandigram,” she affirmed.
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