Insta
Commitment Based On Results? TMC Minister Dismisses Pre-Poll Alliance With Congress, Says Open To Post-Poll Talks
Swarajya Staff
Dec 19, 2018, 11:37 AM | Updated 11:37 AM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Veteran Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and West Bengal Minister Subrata Mukherjee on Tuesday (18 December) rejected the possibility of his party entering into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress but stated that they would be open to discussions once the Lok Sabha results were out, reported The New Indian Express.
"Right now we will do whatever is needed to defeat the BJP. We will fight it alone. After the Lok Sabha results are announced we will decide our next course of action after discussing with everybody," Mukherjee said to the press.
For his part, Leader of the Opposition of the West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan of the Congress rebuffed any prospect of an alliance between the two parties, highlighting the TMC’s historic anti-Congress stance and the failures of their previous pre-poll partnerships.
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had in July declared that her party would field candidates in all 42 Lok Sabha seats of West Bengal.
Nonetheless, the party has attended multiple opposition talks that have been held in Delhi but has dismissed DMK president MK Stalin’s recent remarks that Congress president Rahul Gandhi should be projected as the prime ministerial candidate by the opposition.
West Bengal’s Congress leadership has lashed out against the TMC for not crediting Gandhi for major opposition wins in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Last week, Congress claimed that TMC leaders were having ‘sleepless nights’ since they were apprehensive about their hopes of Banerjee becoming prime minister not being realised.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Introducing ElectionsHQ + 50 Ground Reports Project
The 2024 elections might seem easy to guess, but there are some important questions that shouldn't be missed.
Do freebies still sway voters? Do people prioritise infrastructure when voting? How will Punjab vote?
The answers to these questions provide great insights into where we, as a country, are headed in the years to come.
Swarajya is starting a project with an aim to do 50 solid ground stories and a smart commentary service on WhatsApp, a one-of-a-kind. We'd love your support during this election season.
Click below to contribute.