Alliance Rift: Mamata Banerjee Ends Alliance with Congress Ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections
Kolkata, 25th January 2024: In a significant development ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal, has officially declared the termination of the alliance between her Trinamool Congress and the Congress party. The rift, fueled by disagreements over seat sharing, had been intensifying over the past two months, leading to a public fallout between the two parties within the INDIA bloc.
Mamata Banerjee accused the Congress of rejecting all proposed seat-sharing arrangements, leading to her decision to independently contest all 42 seats in West Bengal. The discord reached new heights with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the state Congress chief, launching scathing attacks on Banerjee, labelling her as an opportunist and resorting to derogatory language.
The strained relationship was exacerbated by the Congress’s lack of clarity on its stance toward Trinamool. While Banerjee maintained a positive relationship with Sonia Gandhi, state Congress leaders, particularly Chowdhury and Abdul Mannan, remained vocal critics, blaming Trinamool for the party’s decline in Bengal and viewing the alliance as detrimental to their interests.
Unlike previous collaborations in 2001 and 2009, the dynamics this time were different, with initial signs of discord emerging over Trinamool’s reported offer of only two out of 42 seats to Congress. Banerjee’s suggested seat-sharing formula based on past electoral performances met resistance, ultimately leading to Trinamool’s decision to contest all seats, including Adhir Chowdhury’s stronghold in Berhampore.
Despite attempts by Rahul Gandhi to mediate and assure that comments by Chowdhury wouldn’t impact the alliance, Banerjee called off the partnership on the eve of Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’ entering West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress is also expected to stay away from the yatra. Despite an olive branch extended by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, the damage appears irreparable, signalling the definitive end of the political partnership between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress party.
