oppn parties I.N.D.I.A Alliance Breaks Down In Bengal

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  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
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  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
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  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
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I.N.D.I.A Alliance Breaks Down In Bengal

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-01-24 08:36:20

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

Finally, it's confirmed. Bengal chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that her party will not have an alliance with the Congress in the state and will contest all 42 Lok Sabha seats alone. Despite being in the I.N.D.I.A alliance, the TMC had earlier said that it will not ally with the Left Front in Bengal. Hence, for all practical purposes, the I.N.D.I.A bloc has ceased to exist in the state.

That the TMC was not willing to concede space to national alliance partners in Bengal was apparent from day one. Mamata Banerjee had always maintained that the party strongest in a region should take on the BJP or its NDA partners. She had advocated a single opposition candidate against the NDA nominees and has always maintained that since the TMC was the strongest in Bengal, it was the best placed to challenge the BJP in the state. Yet, it was willing to concede two seats - which the Congress had won in 2019 - to the alliance partner. But the talks never materialized and Banerjee said today that she has "no relations with Congress" while stressing that she had spoken with no one in the Congress about sharing seats in the state.

With senior Congress leader and habitual Mamata-baiter Adhir Ranjan Choudhary making wild statements since the last two months, TMCs patience was wearing thin. The Congress had demanded 10-14 seats, something which the TMC was never going to agree to. Even if it was a pressure tactic to get more than 2 seats, the fact that the Congress national leadership made no efforts to talk to Banerjee shows that the Congress was not seriously interested.

The scenario that now emerges is that in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, there will be three-cornered contests as the Congress and the Left might come to an understanding over seat-sharing. But in effect, it is going to be a direct contest between the TMC and the BJP as the Congress and the Left have little influence in the state barring a few (3-4) seats. 

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