New Delhi: Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at her residence in the capital on Wednesday. During the meeting, Bengal Congress leaders reportedly demanded six to eight seats from Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The meeting took place amid speculations of a possible alliance between the Congress and the TMC in Bengal. While the two parties have been at odds in the past, they share a common goal of defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections.
Sources close to the Congress said that the party was willing to contest 10 to 12 seats in Bengal but was willing to compromise for a respectable number of seats in order to form an alliance with the TMC. The TMC, on the other hand, is said to be reluctant to give up too many seats, as it fears that this could weaken its position in the state.
The meeting between the Congress and the TMC leaders comes just days after the announcement of the India Alliance, a group of opposition parties that are seeking to challenge the BJP’s dominance in the upcoming elections. The alliance includes the Congress, the TMC, the Left Front, and several other regional parties.
It remains to be seen whether the Congress and the TMC will be able to reach an agreement on seat-sharing in Bengal. However, the meeting between the leaders of the two parties is a positive sign that they are willing to work together to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.