'Have prior engagement': Mamata Banerjee may skip next INDIA bloc meeting; JD(U) seeks 'credible face' for alliance

NEW DELHI: In signs of growing tension within INDIA, specially after Congress's dismal performance in the just-concluded assembly elections, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday indicated she might not be able to attend the next meeting of the alliance bloc on November 6 in New Delhi.

The meeting is being held after a gap of three months since the last one in Mumbai on August 31. The meeting is expected to chalk out plans for next year's Lok Sabha election.

"I do not have any information regarding that (INDIA alliance meeting on November 6). I already have programmes to attend in north Bengal during that period," the CM said, adding: "If we had the information, we wouldn't have scheduled those programmes. We would have definitely gone, but we have not received any information."

After the Congress lost power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Trinamool Congress launched several attacks at the party for failing to perform.

'Failure of Congress'
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "In the three states [Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan], it is more of a failure of the Congress than a success story of the BJP."


He further claimed that the Trinamool Congress was capable of providing leadership in the battle against the BJP nationwide. He also asserted that to secure victories in these states, other parties have incorporated the welfare schemes initiated by Banerjee.

Finalise seat sharing: Banerjee
Banerjee on Monday said if there is proper consensus on seat sharing ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party would not be able to retain power at the Centre.


Noting that the BJP won seats with narrow vote margins, Banerjee said the saffron party came out on top due to split in votes among opponents. "A strategy has to be finalised. I think BJP won't come to power if seats sharing is finalised," she added.

JD(U) seeks 'credible face' for INDIA
Post the Congress's poll debacle, key aides of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made a push for a "credible face" like the JD(U) supremo for leading the INDIA coalition.


Statements to this effect came from ministers and senior JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Ashok Chaudhary, both of whom, in separate conversations with journalists, acknowledged the Congress as "the big brother" in the coalition, but asked it to "show a big heart".

"Had all the parties been taken along by the Congress in the three states, the BJP would have been defeated," said Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who holds important portfolios in the state.
(With inputs from agencies)