Congress leaders in north Bengal continue to dodge questions if they will invite Trinamul functionaries to Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that is slated to enter the region on January 25.

On Sunday, the Congress launched a campaign in the districts of Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and North Dinajpur, inviting people to join the yatra. The party, however, bypassed questions about Trinamul, which, like the Congress, is a constituent of the INDIA bloc.

“AICC is looking into the issue. We want people from all walks of life, who believe in the Congress’s ideology and activities, to join the yatra. They can be from any political party,” said Pinaki Sengupta, the Jalpaiguri district Congress president.

On January 28, Rahul will attend a road show in Dhupguri. He will also walk in Jalpaiguri town and in the afternoon, will leave for Siliguri.

Ever since the Congress has announced the yatra, there is no clarity as to whether it will invite Trinamul. In the Trinamul camp, leaders have maintained that they have not received any invitation. Also, a section of leaders in Mamata Banerjee’s party have said that they will not join the yatra unless a decision is reached among the parties over the sharing of seats in Bengal.

In Bengal, Trinamul has offered two Lok Sabha seats — Malda South and Berhampore — to the Congress which the party had won in 2019. The Congress, however, wants more seats like Darjeeling, Raiganj and Purulia.

A senior Congress functionary in Siliguri asserted that considering the strict stand taken by Trinamul against them in Bengal, most Congress leaders and workers don't want Trinamul to be a part of the yatra.

“Even a couple of days back, chief minister Mamata Banerjee has instructed her party leaders in Murshidabad to intensify political activities ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. This clearly shows that they are not ready to relent or leave any space for us. This is why many leaders and workers of our party don’t want Trinamul in the yatra. We also want to assess our organisational strength and support base through the event, especially in north Bengal,” said the leader.

On Sunday, the Congress also released the detailed itinerary of Rahul Gandhi in north Bengal. There will be a break in the yatra on January 26 and 27, they confirmed, while adding that it would resume from Falakata in Alipurduar district on January 28.

“On January 29, the yatra will enter Bihar via Kishanganj. It will again enter Bengal (in Malda district) from Bihar on January 31,” said a Congress leader.