Doubt Congress will win even 40 seats in Lok Sabha elections: Mamata Banerjee

Days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ditched Congress in her state ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The Trinamool Congress supremo launched a scathing attack on the grand old party and cast doubt on its vote count in the upcoming polls. Mamata Banerjee said that she has doubts whether Congress would be able to secure “even 40 seats” in the upcoming general elections.

Addressing a public gathering in Bengal’s Murshidabad, Banerjee said, “Congress, I don’t know if you will win 40 seats out of 300. Why such arrogance? You came to Bengal, we are an INDIA alliance. Tell me at least. I came to know from the administration. If you have guts, defeat the BJP in Varanasi. You lose in places where you won earlier!”

“We have not one in Uttar Pradesh. You have not won in Rajasthan. Go and win those seats. I will see how daring you are. Go and win in Allahabad, win in Varanasi. Let’s see how daring a party you are!” she said.

Referring to Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s Bengal leg wherein the Congress leader was seen interacting with ‘beedi’ workers, Mamata Banerjee said, “Now a new style has surfaced… of a photo shoot. Those who have never gone to a tea shop now show that they sit with beedi workers. They are all migratory birds.”

In the video, as shared on Congress’s official handle on X, formerly Twitter, Rahul Gandhi can be seen seated with a group of tobacco sellers, mostly women. He is seen engaging in a conversation regarding their revenue and trade.

Mamata Banerjee’s attack on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi comes days after her declaration of riding solo in her state in the upcoming elections.

Following days of a verbal spat between the TMC and Congress, Mamata Banerjee said she was willing to offer Congress two seats in her state. However, days later, she announced her decision to ditch the Congress, which is the TMC’s fellow ally in the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.

Trinamool had reportedly sought that the seat-sharing formula should be based on the performance of the parties in the 2019 election and in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls. The TMC had cited that Congress garnered a vote share of less than 5 per cent and snubbed its seat-sharing demands.