'Will Give Outside Support': Mamata Banerjee Announces Post-Lok Sabha Election Plan With INDIA bloc

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), will provide outside support to the Opposition's INDIA bloc if it comes to power in the ongoing general elections.

Speaking at a rally in support of TMC's Hooghly candidate Rachna Banerjee in Chinsura, Mamata Banerjee said, "We will provide leadership to the INDIA alliance and help them in every way from outside. We will form a government so that in Bengal, our mothers and sisters never face a problem, and those who work in the 100-days-job scheme do not face problems."

This development comes after a brief rift between the TMC and the Congress over seat-sharing, which led to Mamata Banerjee putting her party's membership of the INDIA bloc on hold.

The INDIA bloc comprises the TMC, Congress, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), among others. While the Congress and CPI(M) are contesting the Lok Sabha polls together, the TMC had earlier announced that it would go it alone in the state.

In the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, the Congress has fielded candidates in 12 constituencies, and the CPI(M) in the rest. However, Mamata Banerjee dismissed any possibility of an alliance with the Congress and CPI(M) in the state, saying, " Don't count the Bengal Congress and CPI(M); those two are not with us. Those two are with the BJP."

The TMC supremo also criticised the Election Commission of India and said, “The EC is a puppet and operates according to Modi’s directions.” “Polls are being conducted for two-and-half months, have you (poll officials) ever realised the struggle of the common people?” she asked.

Seven Lok Sabha constituencies of West Bengal - Arambag, Bangaon, Barrackpore, Hooghly, Howrah, Sreerampur and Uluberia – will go into polls for the fifth phase of the 18th Lok Sabha Elections on May 20.