New Delhi/Kolkata. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that she will not be able to attend the ‘India’ alliance meeting on June 1 due to the last phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections and the relief work being carried out after the cyclone. According to sources, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the leaders of the ‘India’ alliance constituents on June 1 afternoon, the day of the last round of voting. Addressing an election rally in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee mentioned her inability to attend the ‘India’ alliance meeting due to voting in the state on that day.
She said, “The ‘India’ alliance meeting is scheduled for June 1. But I have already said that I cannot go on June 1 because there is an election in our state on that day. So far, the only information I have is that there are elections in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, voting will continue till 6 pm and sometimes it goes beyond that (6 pm).” Banerjee stressed her priority towards relief efforts and also mentioned the dual challenges of post-cyclone relief work and ongoing elections.
She said, “How can I leave everything and go? My priority is relief work. Even if I am here attending this public meeting, my condolences are with those people (affected by the cyclone).”
TMC had in January decided to contest elections separately from the ‘India’ alliance in West Bengal, though it has also maintained that it is part of this opposition alliance at the national level. TMC sources said that on the day of the meeting, voting will be held in nine seats in West Bengal, including two seats in Kolkata – Kolkata South and Kolkata North, which are important for the party. Other constituencies in the state where voting is to be held on that day include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbor.
A source associated with the party said that TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will vote on that day and hence will not be able to attend the meeting. The source mentioned that the party has so far attended all the meetings of the opposition alliance. According to the source, TMC has informed the organizers of the meeting about its inability to attend.
The first meeting of the ‘India’ alliance was held in Patna on June 23 last year, followed by a meeting in Bengaluru on July 17-18, 2023 and then in Mumbai between August 31 and September 1. The fourth meeting of the opposition alliance was held in Delhi on December 19. After this, opposition leaders joined the ‘Save Democracy’ rally held in Delhi on March 31 to protest against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren. TMC has been a part of all these meetings and public meetings. At the March 31 rally in Delhi, TMC leader Derek O’Brien had announced that they would remain a part of the ‘India’ block.