Cong's Yatra rolls into Bengal amid alliance dynamics; Rahul pins hope on INDIA bloc unity

Amidst differences in opposition bloc INDIA over seat sharing in Bengal for Lok sabha polls, Congress expressed confidence in the opposition unity with its leaders asserting that a ''way forward'' will be found as the Rahul Gandhi-led Yatra' entered the state on Thursday. ''Congress president Kharge has spoken with her today and we will find a way forward because her objective is the objective of the INDIA bloc which is to defeat the BJP resoundingly in West Bengal and convincingly in other parts of the country,'' Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said. The Yatra reached the state a day after Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee announced the decision to go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, with Bengal's ruling party blaming the Congress for the stalemate.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke with Banerjee, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said, asserting that the two parties ''will find a way forward''.

The Yatra, led by Gandhi, arrived in West Bengal from Assam to a warm reception from hundreds of state Congress workers and state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

As Gandhi's Yatra bus traversed through the town of Cooch Behar, he waved to the onlookers.

After conducting a roadshow in Cooch Behar, Gandhi departed for New Delhi as the Yatra took a scheduled two-day break, while it proceeded to Falakata in Alipurduar for a halt.

State Congress leader Subhankar Sarkar explained, ''Gandhi left for New Delhi from the Hasimara air base in Alipurduar on a special flight. He had some urgent work. After the recess, the Yatra will resume on January 28. Gandhi will come back by then and join it.'' In Cooch Behar, TMC activists carrying posters accusing Chowdhury of destabilising the INDIA bloc in the state protested just 500 metres away from the venue of the Yatra.

The Yatra is set to navigate through Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling districts of West Bengal before entering Bihar on January 29. It is scheduled to re-enter West Bengal on January 31 via Malda, passing through Murshidabad, both Congress stronghold districts, before leaving the state on February 1.

Addressing reporters in Cooch Behar, Gandhi accused the BJP and RSS of spreading hatred and violence across the country, emphasizing the INDIA bloc's commitment to fight unitedly against the saffron camp.

He stated, ''The word 'Nyay' (justice) has been attached to the yatra because injustice is prevailing across the country. The INDIA bloc will unitedly fight against injustice across the country.'' In response to Banerjee's decision to contest alone in West Bengal, Ramesh asserted the indispensability of Mamata Banerjee in the INDIA bloc's fight against the BJP.

Ramesh said, ''If we want to defeat the BJP in Bengal and India, Mamata Banerjee is very much needed. Our leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge have immense respect for Mamata ji.'' Regarding the seat-sharing deadlock, he stated that the party wants this impasse to end. The Congress has invited Banerjee to participate in the Yatra, Ramesh said in response to allegations that the TMC boss was not informed about the programme.

''We are hopeful that Mamata Banerjee, despite her busy schedule, will participate in the Yatra at least once,'' he said.

Later in the evening, Ramesh told PTI that Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and everyone in the party would be ''just delighted and privileged to have her as part of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra even if it is for a few minutes''.

The CPI (M) and Left parties, allies of the Congress in the state and the INDIA bloc at the national level, are expected to join the march.

Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said the Congress is now in damage control mode. ''But first, they must clarify why they were silent when Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury hurled insults at Mamata Banerjee on a regular basis,'' he said.

Ghosh conceded that the INDIA alliance was very much needed to defeat the BJP in the country, but said, ''The Congress did not follow the principles of alliance in the state.'' ''We have never badmouthed the Congress leadership and waited for similar gestures from Congress. But they had other plans,'' he said.

According to sources, the TMC's offer of two seats to the grand old party based on its 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, triggered tension among the leaders, as the arrangement was deemed insufficient.

The CPI (M)-led Left Front, Congress, and the TMC are part of the 28-party INDIA bloc.

However, in Bengal, the CPI (M) and the Congress aligned to fight against the TMC and the BJP in the state.

A vocal TMC critic, Chowdhury has maintained that the Congress will not ''beg'' for seats from Bengal’s ruling party.

In the 2019 elections, the TMC secured 22 seats, Congress won two, and the BJP bagged 18 seats in the state.

The Trinamool Congress had recently abstained from a recent INDIA bloc virtual meeting and emphasised the necessity for the Congress to recognise its limitations in Bengal, and permit the TMC to spearhead the state's political battle.

TMC had previously allied with the Congress in the 2001 assembly polls, the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, and the 2011 assembly polls, leading to the ousting of the CPI (M)-led Left Front government of 34 years.