West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said on Monday that she would skip the INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for June 1. She cited the last phase of Lok Sabhas elections and ongoing relief work after cyclone 'Remal' as the reason to stay away from the crucial meeting.
Mamata's statement comes as top opposition leaders, including Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, decided to meet in Delhi to assess their performance in the Lok Sabha elections and chalk out their strategy ahead of the results.
The Bengal chief minister, while addressing an election rally, clarified that her schedule wouldn't let her attend the meeting in Delhi. "The INDIA bloc meeting has been fixed on June 1. But I have already said I can't go on June 1 as there is an election in our state on that day. So far I know there are elections in Punjab, UP and Bihar. Voting will continue till 6 pm, and at times it extends beyond that (6 pm)," she said.
She added that the relief work too is keeping her occupied. "How can I leave everything behind and go? My priority is relief work. Even if I am holding a meeting here, my heart goes out to those people (affected by the cyclone)," she said at the Kolkata rally.
Mamata had refused to be part of the coalition in the West Bengal elections, opting to go solo while stressing that she remained committed to the opposition alliance at the national level.
On June 1, voting will be conducted on nine seats, including two seats in Kolkata, which are crucial for the party. Apart from the Kolkata Dakshin and Kolkata Uttar, other constituencies in the state that will go to polls on that day include Jadavpur, Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jayanagar, Mathurapur and Diamond Harbour.
Besides, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other top leaders will exercise their franchise on the day.
The TMC has so far attended all meetings of the opposition bloc.
Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc meeting will focus on the strategy ahead of the June 4 results and assess their performance in the seven-phase elections, said reports.
This is also the fifth meeting of the INDIA bloc, the first held in Patna on June 23 last year. This was followed by a meeting in Bengaluru on July 17-18, 2023, and then in Mumbai between August 31 and September 1. It was during the third meeting that the opposition parties adopted resolutions to unitedly contest the Lok Sabha elections.
The fourth meeting of the opposition bloc was held in Delhi on December 19.
