INDIA bloc gets jolts in Bengal and Punjab as TMC, AAP rule out alliances
In both Punjab and West Bengal, the state Congress chiefs have been opposed to any alliance with the dominant regional party
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday ruled out alliances with the Indian National Congress in their states for the coming Lok Sabha elections, jeopardising not just the prospects of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties, but also threatening its utility.
A top-ranking TMC leader close to Banerjee told HT on condition of anonymity that what irked the chief minister was (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi’s comment that “the negotiations on seat-sharing are underway” even though there are no talks going on between the two sides. TMC leaders also cited state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s frequent attacks as a factor.
“No, I did not have any talk with anyone. Since they refused my proposal at the very beginning, our party has decided to go it alone in Bengal. Have they even shown the courtesy by informing us about the rally they are holding in our state? I am also in the INDIA alliance. So, I have no relationship with them in Bengal,” said Banerjee, referring to Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is scheduled to enter Bengal on Thursday.
In Punjab, while addressing reporters after a cabinet meeting, Mann said: “How many times will you make me say the same thing. Punjab will become a hero in the country, AAP will win 13-0 in the Lok Sabha elections.”
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Their comments mean that the TMC will contest all 42 seats in West Bengal and AAP, all 13 in Punjab.
To be sure, an alliance in the two states was always going to be a challenge. The AAP came to power in the state by defeating the incumbent Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in state elections in 2022. The Congress won just 23% of the vote and 18 seats in that election compared to AAP’s 42% and 92 seats (in the 117-member house). The Congress’s performance suffered after it ousted its chief minister Amarinder Singh, who had led it to a creditable performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the state, winning eight of 13 seats and 40% of the vote.
In West Bengal, the Congress won two of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2019, but in the 2021 state elections, it won no seats in the 294-seat assembly, and polled just 3% of the vote; TMC won 215 seats and polled 48% of the vote.
Congress leaders in Punjab too had opposed any pact with AAP arguing that if the ruling party and the principal Opposition outfit joins hands, the Congress votes would shift to Akali Dal and the BJP. The Congress’ five-member alliance panel held talks with all state units but Punjab.
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Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh quickly extended the olive branch to Banerjee. Minutes after her comments, he said in Assam that “we can’t imagine INDIA alliance without Trinamool”.
“Mamata ji is an important national leader. She is a very important pillar of the INDIA alliance. We take inspiration from her. Our president Kharge ji, (former chiefs) Sonia ji and Rahul ji respects her. We will find out a way,” Ramesh said.
On Tuesday, Gandhi said during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam, “The negotiations on seat-sharing are underway. I don’t want to comment here. But Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say something, their leaders say something, and it goes on. It’s a natural thing.”
A senior Congress leader involved in the seat negotiations with allies said, “The party leadership might reach out to Banerjee. But there is also resentment against Trinamool in the party unit.”
Another senior leader pointed out that if Trinamool, the largest ally of the Congress in INDIA bloc, walks out of the alliance, it would send a wrong political message ahead of the poll. “If Trinamool quits the alliance, it might have a far-reaching consequence. Our ability to make an alliance will be severely dented. We will come under tremendous pressure from other allies and our seat negotiations will be affected.”
A senior member of the panel told HT on the condition of anonymity, “The high command will decide on Punjab. They told us not to negotiate for Punjab.”
Punjab Pradesh Congress committee general secretary Captain Sandeep Sandhu said the party has been preparing to contest elections in the state on its own for four months.
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“The chief minister now must clarify why Raghav Chadha and others in the AAP leadership repeatedly met with Congress high command. What they were asking for?” asked Sandhu.
In both Punjab and West Bengal, the state Congress chiefs have been opposed to any alliance with the dominant regional party. Indeed, West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been scathing in his criticism of Banerjee. And in Punjab, Congress chief Amrinder Singh Warring and legislative leader Partap Singh Bajwa have previously expressed his party’s desire to go it alone in the polls.
The Congress can, however, take heart from the fact that Banerjee said she was not walking out of the alliance.
“The alliance does not belong to one party only. We said made it clear that regional parties will stay together. We have said let them (Congress) contest 300 (of India’s 543) seats. The regional parties will contest the rest and they (Congress) should not interfere.”
“We are a secular party. We will do whatever we can to defeat BJP,” she added.
On Wednesday, the Congress’s Chowdhury refused to comment on Banerjee’s comments. “I don’t know anything about this. Please ask national leaders,” he said.
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Asked whether it is true that TMC was not invited to join the yatra, as mentioned by Banerjee, Ramesh said: “Such invitations are not sent from my level. As far as I know the Congress president, Rahul ji and other leaders must have discussed this. The Congress president invited leaders of all parties while delivering three to four speeches.”
The possibility of an opposition alliance in West Bengal is further complicated by another INDIA member the CPI(M), a traditional rival of the TMC in the state. On Monday, while addressing an interfaith rally, Banerjee said: “It was I who coined the name INDIA. But I am sorry to say that whenever I attend the meetings, CPI(M) controls them. This is extremely sad. I feel insulted. I fought them (Left) for 34 years when they were in power in Bengal.”
In Chandigarh, Mann, who is also the AAP’s state unit president,said there have been discussions already on the party’s probable candidates for the 13 parliamentary seats. “We have a list of 40 probables. Surveys will be conducted and we will keep winnability as the criterion for candidate selection.”
BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli said it is a “paper alliance” and Banerjee’s comments made it clear that the opposition bloc has “no clarity in its agenda and no leadership”.
Achiranshu Acharyya, an economist with Visva Bharati University, said, “The prospects of this alliance depend on how far the Congress can accommodate regional parties. It can’t be expected that regional outfits such as TMC, DMK, JDU will leave some of its seats for the Congress. It has to happen otherwise. The alliance faces a grim prospect if the Congress is unable to accommodate the regional satraps.”