West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reaffirmed her party’s commitment to the Opposition’s INDIA bloc on Thursday, countering recent claims of withdrawal. Addressing an election rally in Haldia, she clarified that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supports the INDIA alliance in Delhi but maintains no coalition with the Congress or CPI(M) in Bengal. Banerjee criticized Congress and CPI(M) for allegedly being funded by the BJP to split votes in Bengal.
“I founded the INDIA alliance and will continue to support it. There should be no misunderstanding about that,” Banerjee stated. Meanwhile, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury expressed distrust towards Banerjee, accusing her of abandoning the alliance and suggesting she might ally with the BJP.
Banerjee also addressed her 2021 Assembly election defeat in Nandigram, accusing the BJP of manipulation with the help of the Election Commission. She alleged that a power outage on polling day altered the results, and vowed to seek justice for what she termed an “injustice.”
“With the assistance of the Election Commission of India, the BJP changed the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. On polling day, they orchestrated a power outage, leading to a change in the results. I will seek justice for this injustice, be it tomorrow or the future. BJP will not stay forever, nor will agencies like the CBI or ED. My case is still pending in court, and I will seek justice. This isn’t the verdict of the people of Nandigram,” asserted Mamata Banerjee.
