BJP MP Dilip Ghosh on Saturday mocked the existence of the INDIA bloc referring to the recent announcement by Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He said that all this is just to "create a hoax among the voters" and to "befool them".
"There is no alliance. They are all leaving. She (Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee) said that it will not have any alliance in West Bengal... All this is just to create a hoax among the voters and to befool them... Evem CPI(M) has said they're not in the alliance," Dilip Ghosh told reporters in Kharagpur, Bengal.
The BJP MP further said that in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Trinamool Congress will only win half of the seats while the Congress will be wiped out from the eastern state.
Dilip Ghosh also commented on the Bihar political crisis, saying that the problem is that they (Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar) can "neither work separately nor can they work together".
Notably, in the 2019 general election, Congress registered its second-worst performance in the state by winning only 2 of the 42 seats, taking its vote share to 5.7 per cent. The Trinamool Congress had won 22 seats with 43.7 per cent of the vote share. The BJP had emerged as the main opposition for the first time in Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, winning 18 seats and 40.6 per cent of vote share, dislodging the grand old party and the Left.
Earlier this month, Dilip Ghosh said that the INDIA alliance would "break" soon. His remarks had come after the last meeting of the INDIA alliance, following which Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge was named as the bloc's chairperson.
"The INDIA alliance only does meetings, but there is no work...Nothing would happen, and the alliance would break soon," Dilip Ghosh had told reporters.
The BJP MP's fresh dig at the Opposition-led bloc came amid rift in the alliance, which has been aggravated by rumours that Janata Dal (United) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may rekindle ties with the BJP-led NDA and form a new government in Bihar. This development has come a blow to the INDIA bloc as Nitish Kumar is a key member in the alliance and was even offered the convenor's post in the INDIA bloc's last meeting this month. At the time, his party had turned down the offer, saying the JD(U) chief was not interested in the same and Nitish Kumar reportedly adding that he wants someone from Congress to take the responsibility.
Sources have told India Today that Nitish Kumar is unhappy with Congress due to failed seat-sharing discussions in the INDIA bloc. The Bihar Chief Minister also believes that Congress's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' led by MP Rahul Gandhi has only been undertaken for the benefit of the grand old party and not the INDIA bloc.
Sources further told India Today that Nitish Kumar is likely to quit as the Bihar Chief Minister today and get BJP MLAs support letter tonight.
Mamata Banerjee has also cited displeasure over no seat-sharing talks as reasons for going solo in West Bengal in the 2024 general elections.
Published On:
Jan 27, 2024
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