• Source:JND
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Hours after Rahul Gandhi said that Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee is "very close" to him, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee "opportunist". “We will not contest the elections at the mercy of Mamata Banerjee. Congress knows how to contest elections on its own, and the two seats we have won (in 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal) were by defeating Mamata and the BJP. Mamta is an opportunist; she herself came to power in 2011, with the mercy of Congress,” Chowdhury was quoted by PTI as saying.

Earlier in the day, Rahul said that talks with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on seat-sharing in Bengal for the Lok Sabha polls are underway.

"The negotiations on seat-sharing is underway, I don't want to comment here. But Mamata Banerjee is very close to me and our party. Sometimes our leaders say something, their leaders say something, and it goes on. It's a natural thing. Such comments won't matter and these are not things that are going to disrupt things," Gandhi said when asked about Chowdhury's recent remarks that Congress would contest the Lok Sabha elections without her assistance.

The former Congress chief added that the party has invited INDIA parties to join Yatra, and our party will feel good if our partners join us. Earlier, West Bengal Congress president and MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury made an aggressive statement on Saturday, saying that he doesn't care about anyone who is contesting the Lok Sabha Election in West Bengal, as he very well knows how to fight and win.

"I don't care about anyone. Our leaders have already spoken. I have reached here only by contesting and winning. We know how to contest and win, said," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

Chowdhury reacted to the statement made by TMC State General Secretary Kunal Ghosh on seat sharing with Congress in West Bengal, during which he said that TMC will be fighting on all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

(With input from agencies)