Kharge speaks to Mamata; Jairam Ramesh says 'will find way forward'

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday spoke with West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said and asserted that the two parties "will find a way forward".

Ramesh's remark came amid Congress-TMC impasse over seat-sharing in Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls and a day after Banerjee announced that her party will fight the elections in the state "alone".

Congress president Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and everyone in the party would be "just delighted and privileged to have her as part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra even if it is for a few minutes", AICC general secretary in-charge communications Ramesh told PTI.

"Congress president Kharge has spoken with her today and we will find a way forward because her objective is the objective of the INDIA bloc which is to defeat the BJP resoundingly in West Bengal and convincingly in other parts of the country," he said.

Ramesh said the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra would be immensely strengthened by her presence.

"Without her, we cannot fight the BJP in Bengal and the rest of the country. She is the integral, essential pillar of the opposition bloc INDIA. She has played a crucial role in making the INDIA bloc a reality," the Congress leader said.