Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Monday claimed that the Congress, which faced defeats in assembly elections in three states, was suffering from complacency and called for addressing its "internal strife" before the Lok Sabha elections due next year.
The Congress has lost assembly elections in the three Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh and only won in the southern state of Telangana.
Banerjee, the national general secretary of the Trinamul Congress, emphasised the necessity for "concrete actions rather than mere rhetoric" for uniting the opposition.
He said that had the internal differences within the Congress been resolved before the assembly elections, the results could have been different.
"I don't want to blame anyone, but I will say that many Congress leaders are suffering from complacency and pride. They are not providing opportunities to those deserving and are striving to stay in the limelight. The drawback of the Congress is that the deserving workers were not given a chance to work, and the competent ones were sidelined," he said.
As the de facto number two in the TMC, a key constituent of the opposition INDIA alliance, Banerjee emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts, urging everyone to set aside political ego and allow strong and competent individuals in their respective regions a chance to fight.
"In the Congress, for those who want to fight unitedly against the BJP, I would say that not much time is left. The attempt to bring everyone together should gain momentum. It should be reflected in actions and not in their words," he said.
Referring to the defeats in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Banerjee said political differences should have been rectified and that could have altered the results. He said addressing internal rivalries could have prevented the losses.
Banerjee urged the Congress to "learn from the mistakes" that caused the defeat and prepare for a robust fight in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
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