Cracks in INDIA alliance — TMC to contest all 42 seats in West Bengal | Tarun Kumar Basu

Trinamool Supremo and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee says, that Congress has rejected TMC’s proposal to acknowledge two seats and also said that the fate of the all-India alliance will be decided after the LS poll. However, the TMC has decided at the meeting of the party’s senior leader with the Murshidabad district leadership to contest all 42 seats.

Ms. Banerjee said "We had given a proposal which they refused from the beginning. That is why our party has decided that we will fight in the Lok Sabha Election alone in West Bengal". In the 2019 Loksabha Elections, the Congress had won only two seats, one in Baharampur (Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury) in Murshidabad District and one in Maldaha Dakshin (Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury) Maldaha District. But for the 2024 election, the Congress party reportedly hopes to get 6 seats. 

TMC had initially offered two seats to Congress in West Bengal according to the seat-sharing formula to be based on the performance of the parties’ latest performance in the 2019 election and also had cited that Congress acquired a vote share of less than 5 percent. Trinamool Congress of West Bengal is likely to field candidates in all the 42 Lok Sabha seats and this decision may upset the Congress and test the already breakable INDIA alliance. Earlier Mamata Banerjee had given a clear indication, to fight against BJP, that there would be no seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress or the Left Front in West Bengal.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) decided not to ally with the INDIA Bloc due to issues related to seat-sharing and opposition from state Congress chiefs. TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and other alliance members were uncomfortable with the disproportionate number of seats demanded by some constituents of the alliance. Additionally, in states like Punjab and West Bengal, the state Congress chiefs opposed any alliance with the dominant regional parties, which jeopardized the prospects of the INDIA Bloc. Furthermore, TMC leaders cited a failure in seat-sharing talks with the Congress as one of the reasons for going solo in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls. The TMC was also unhappy with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, who had criticized Banerjee in the past. Despite the TMC’s decision to go solo, the Congress described the TMC as "a strong pillar" of the INDIA Bloc and said that an alliance without Banerjee "cannot be imagined".


The alliance of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) with the INDIA Bloc failed due to issues related to seat-sharing and opposition from state Congress chiefs. TMC’s Mamata Banerjee and other alliance members were uncomfortable with the seat-sharing talks and the disproportionate number of seats demanded by some constituents of the alliance. Additionally, in states like Punjab and West Bengal, the state Congress chiefs opposed any alliance with the dominant regional parties, which jeopardized the prospects of the INDIA Bloc. Furthermore, Janta Dal United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar’s actions were also cited as a factor contributing to the failure of the alliance. These factors collectively led to the collapse of the alliance.


According to the present scenario,it seems to be set for a triangular contest in the State amid an outcry for minority votes which constitutes 27% of the State’s population.
It is a mammoth task to unite the seat sharing between the TMC, Congress from the beginning as the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has never given up any space to any Opposition party in West Bengal. With BJP’s party leader Suvendu Adhikari reaching out to the community to snatch the Muslim votes as the top leaders have softened its stance against Muslims. The minority votes will turn crucial as the BJP will try to consolidate its vote base among Hindus after the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.


TMC’s decision to not ally with the INDIA Bloc has had a significant impact on the alliance. The TMC’s withdrawal from the alliance has dealt a major blow to the opposition’s chances of challenging the BJP in the upcoming elections.

Some of the key impacts of TMC’s decision include: The TMC is a dominant regional party in West Bengal, and its withdrawal from the alliance has weakened the opposition’s presence in the state. The TMC’s decision to go solo in West Bengal was partly due to unjustified demands from the Congress for seat-sharing. This has created a rift within the alliance, as other constituents may also demand a disproportionate number of seats. The TMC’s decision has also affected other regional parties, such as the JDU, which has also withdrawn from the alliance. This has further weakened the opposition’s position in the upcoming elections. The TMC’s decision to go solo in West Bengal has created a three-way contest between the TMC, the Congress-Left alliance, and the BJP. This could potentially benefit the BJP, as it may help them mobilize OBC votes more effectively. Overall, TMC’s decision to not ally with the INDIA Bloc has significantly weakened the opposition’s position in the upcoming elections and has created deeper fissures within the alliance.

(Author: Tarun Kumar Basu is a Psychologist and a free-lance journalist)