LDF convenor denies connections with BJP, alleges Congress conspiracy
Jayarajan said the accusations against him were part of a calculated conspiracy hatched by the Congress and the BJP.
In a setback to Opposition’s INDIA alliance, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday announced candidates on all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. The announcement of candidates was made during the mega Brigade Ground rally in Kolkata.
Former India cricketer Yusuf Pathan and expelled MP Mahua Moitra were among the candidates. While Pathan will contest from Baharampur, Mahua Moitra will be at TMC candidate from 12 Krishnanagar.
Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee will be contesting from Diamond Harbour.
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The other candidates include Shahnawaz Ali Rehaan from Malda Dakshin, Sougata Roy from Dum Dum, Hazi Nurul Islam from Basirhat, actor turned politician Sayoni Ghosh from Jadavpur, Mala Roy from Kolkata Dakshin, Sudip Bandopadhyay from Kolkata North and Prasoon Bandopadhyay from Howrah.
Kalyan Bandopadhyay will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections on TMC ticket from Sreerampore. Actor turned politician Nusrat Jahan has been dropped from the Basirhat constituency, under which Sandeshkhali falls.
The development comes as a setback to the Congress party as it marks the exit of Mamata Banerjee from the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.
Reacting to the announcement, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the grand old party wanted a respectable seat-sharing agreement through negotiations.
“The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements. The Indian National Congress has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together,” Ramesh said.
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