• Source:JND
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After being at sixes and sevens with the TMC, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he was holding deliberations with the CPIM to forge an alliance in West Bengal ahead of the high-stakes Lok Sabha poll. This came a day after Jairam Ramesh hinted at the possibility of an alliance with the Mamata-led TMC in the state.   

“I want to contest the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal with the Left. I have already started talking to CPIMs’ Md Salim,” News 18 quoted Chowdhury as saying. On Ramesh’s statement about alliance with TMC, he said he was not aware of the matter and Mamata’s party has categorically said they will contest all 42 seats in the state. “I don’t know if any meeting has taken place…I am not aware. The TMC has said directly that they will contest all 42 seats,” Chowdhury added.

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INDIA bloc is on the verge of collapse as many key coalition partners have switched sides to join the BJP-led NDA. In the past few days, Nitish’s JDU and Jayant Singh’s RLD have opted out of the bloc and joined the Modi brigade. The RLD, however, is yet to make an official announcement on joining NDA. In the streak, things don’t seem well between TMC and Congress too. Last month, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee said that her party will go solo for the Lok Sabha elections in the state.

“We are not in touch with the Congress for Bengal. Let the Congress fight on its own. We will fight on our own. The final decision will be taken post the Lok Sabha results,” she had said.

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This is the first instance when Chowdhury clearly said he was in talks with the left instead of looping in TMC.