The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced it will not attend the INDIA bloc meeting on June 1. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee cited concurrent elections and cyclone relief efforts as reasons for her absence.
Mamata Banerjee explained, “The INDIA team is holding a meeting on June 1. I have told them I can’t join as we have elections in 10 seats in West Bengal on the same day. Punjab, Bihar, and UP also have elections on June 1. On one side is the cyclone, and on the other side, it is elections – I have to do everything. Cyclone relief is my priority right now.”
A senior TMC leader further emphasized, “We have an important election in the seventh phase, with nine seats going to the polls, more than any other day in Bengal. All seats in Kolkata and greater Kolkata will vote on that day. It is a big election day for TMC. Also, UP, Bihar, and Punjab will be voting. Going to Delhi is not practical.”
The INDIA bloc members are expected to review and discuss the coalition’s future course of action ahead of the June 4 election results, according to media reports. The TMC is not fighting in alliance with other INDIA bloc members in West Bengal.
The first INDIA bloc meeting took place in Patna on June 23 last year, followed by a second meeting in Bengaluru on July 17 and 18. The third meeting was held on August 31 and September 1, where the opposition alliance resolved to contest the ongoing Lok Sabha elections unitedly. The fourth meeting was held in Delhi on December 19, and the latest gathering occurred on March 31 in Delhi at the ‘Save Democracy’ rally against the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. A similar ‘Ulgulan’ rally took place in Ranchi on April 21.
Twenty-eight opposition parties initially formed the INDIA bloc, though some, like Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Lok Dal, later switched over to the NDA.
On June 1, voting will take place in nine West Bengal constituencies, including two seats in Kolkata: Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar. Other constituencies going to the polls include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur, and Diamond Harbour.
