A day before Rahul Gandhi embarks on his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur, the Bengal Congress put its foot down on any seat sharing with the Trinamul Congress as part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) in Bengal.

The AICC observer, Ghulam Ahmad Mir, was in Calcutta on Saturday for a meeting with state Congress representatives including the PCC president and leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, former state president Pradip Bhattacharya and other functionaries, where the votaries against any seat-sharing with the Trinamul pleaded their case.

“After the 2023 panchayat polls thousands of our workers and supporters were hounded out of their homes and had to take shelter here at Bidhan Bhawan. We told Mir how Trinamul had looted votes. We asked if the high command presses for an alliance with the Trinamul, what will we tell these people? The ball is in the high command’s court,” said a Congress leader.

The state Congress leaders said any attempt to impose an electoral understanding with the Trinamul will not go down well with the already dwindling voters and would ultimately help the BJP consolidate its position in the state. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Congress and the Left had contested the elections along with the Indian Secular Front and failed to win a single seat. Only ISF managed one seat, Bhangar in South 24-Parganas.

“Trinamul has systematically targeted our elected members be it in civic bodies or the Assembly. The possibility of votes shifting to the BJP in case of a forced alliance cannot be ruled out,” said a Congress leader from Purulia.

In Purulia’s Jhalda, the Congress which had won the municipality, was wrested by the Trinamul with defections. Similarly, the lone Congress MLA from Murshidabad’s Sagardighi Bayron Biswas, who won a by-election, defected to the Trinamul last year.

In June 2023, the first time a band of pan-India Opposition parties had come together to cobble an alliance against the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, little progress has been achieved on the ground in terms of electoral adjustments, as many of the constituents are arch-rivals in particular states. The Left parties, especially the CPM, is also waiting to see which way the Congress ultimately tilts before preparing the ground for candidate selection.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made it clear that Trinamul would go it alone in Bengal. Likewise, the Left parties which are also a member of the INDIA bloc along with the Trinamul, has ruled out any possibility of an understanding with Bengal’s ruling parties. Mamata also skipped a virtual meeting of the alliance scheduled early on Saturday.

Mir and Chowdhury will be travelling to Manipur on Sunday from where the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will begin.

In the first phase of the Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will enter Bengal from Cooch Behar, move to Siliguri before making an exit to Bihar and re-entering from Murshidabad, a traditional Congress stronghold.

At Sunday’s meeting Chowdhury suggested that the Darjeeling Hills be included in the itinerary. While the Hills with support from the local leaders has been sending a BJP representative to Parliament since the late Jaswant Singh was elected in 2009, the Congress is fancying the seat this time. The last time Congress had an MP from Darjeeling was in 2004 when Dawa Norbula was elected.

“Adhir da said the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family had a long association with Darjeeling. Nehru visited, so did his grandson and late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. Though for the last 15 years BJP has held the seat, Modi has never been to Darjeeling. Rahul’s yatra in the Hill tracts could help garner support,” said a Congress leader present at the meeting.

Last month Rahul met several hill leaders including a member of the Gorkha National Liberation Front, which is an ally of the BJP, as well as Ajoy Edwards of the Hamro Party.

Some of the Congress leaders feel Calcutta should be included among the list of places the yatra will pass through. In the itinerary scheduled till now, Rahul will visit Murshidabad before proceeding to Jharkhand.