News Brief
Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee. (Representative Image)
In a big setback for the INDI Alliance, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has said that her party will contest the elections for Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha seats on its own.
Banerjee further said that she will only consider a pan-India alliance with the Congress after results are declared.
The West Bengal Chief Minister's announcement highlights the increasing divide between two parties widely seen as important members of the INDI Alliance opposition bloc.
“I have had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat the BJP,” Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Banerjee also seemed to hit out at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and his 'Bharat Jodo Nay Yatra', which is scheduled to enter Bengal Thursday but might skip Kolkata.
"They are coming to my state... they did not have the courtesy to inform me...," she said.