TMC hopes INDIA bloc's seat-sharing talks conclude by year-end

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday expressed optimism that the ongoing discussions within the opposition INDIA bloc would yield favourable outcomes and finalisation of seat-sharing agreements by the year-end.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday proposed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's name as the prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc, MDMK leader Vaiko said after the meeting of the grouping.

However, the veteran Congress leader said it is important to first win and everything else can be decided later.

"The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. We are hopeful that after today's meeting, positive results will be visible soon. We have said that all seat-sharing talks, or at least the initial stages, must be over by December 31 of this year," TMC MP Sougata Roy told PTI.

According to TMC sources, the party is keen on expediting seat-sharing negotiations, formulating a united narrative, and finalising the manifesto to present a formidable challenge against the saffron camp in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Responding to reports of Banerjee proposing Kharge's name as the PM candidate for the INDIA bloc, Roy said it was a commendable proposal.

"We have heard about those reports. It is indeed a very good proposal. Now let's hope for the best. Defeating the BJP should be the prime objective," he affirmed.

Kharge, when asked in Delhi about the possibility of being the PM candidate, emphasised, "First, we have to win and get a majority; then MPs will decide democratically." Banerjee, on Monday, expressed confidence in the possibility of a three-way alliance in West Bengal between the TMC, Congress, and the Left, drawing mixed reactions from the CPI(M) and the Congress in the eastern state.

Roy defended Banerjee's proposal, stating, "She has said a three-way alliance is possible; now, what the CPI(M) or the Congress think or say is their business. We have nothing to say regarding it." The BJP, on the other hand, called the INDIA bloc meeting as a gathering of "corrupt leaders." BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya remarked, "INDIA bloc is a grouping of corrupt leaders who have come together to fight the BJP. The people will give them a befitting reply, just like in 2014 and 2019."