TMC, AAP reject seat-sharing in Bengal, Punjab for LS polls

On Wednesday, two vital constituents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), ruled out any seat-sharing with the Congress for the 2024 Lok Sabha (LS) polls in the two states they rule, West Bengal and Punjab, respectively.

- ARCHIS MOHAN

The development had the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pointing to the fragility of the 28-party Opposition alliance and evidence of the Congress' unwillingness to respect its regional allies.

The Congress termed TMC's exit from the discussions on seat-sharing a "speed breaker" in a long journey, asserting that talks in other states were on course and underlined that the TMC shared its commitment to fight the BJP.

However, there were concerns about the viability of the alliance with regional parties becoming more assertive, even suggesting to the Congress, as the TMC did, that it should contest at most 300 of the 543 seats, leaving aside the rest for the regional parties. It said the regional parties could contest seats they thought were winnable if the Congress didn't discuss their demands.