On a day that INDIA parties presented a united front at Jan Vishwas rally in Patna, the Congress said that the doors are still open for an alliance with Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the final word has not been spoken on the issue.
Trinamool President Mamata Banerjee, who has already announced that her party will contest all the 42 seats in the State, has also said that this does not mean that there is a final divorce from the INDIA bloc, though the Trinamool was not represented at the Patna rally.
When Ms. Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister, says she is in the INDIA alliance, her priority is to defeat the BJP, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, adding that this shows her “priority and intent”. Mr. Ramesh is in Gwalior for the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
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“We have not closed any doors. She has unilaterally announced that she will contest all 42 seats [in West Bengal]. Well, that is her announcement. As far as we are concerned, talks are still continuing, the doors are still open and the final word will not be said till the final word is said,” he pointed out.
The Congress is banking on the fact that the Trinamool is yet to declare its list of candidates. Trinamool sources, however, insist that not much should be read into this since the list for the 2019 general election too was declared only after the dates for the polls were notified.
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