Kolkata: The Congress' 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' rolled into Bengal this morning but its stay in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's state will be brief, with the procession having been re-routed to pass quickly through the northern districts before it enters neighbouring Bihar. The yatra is expected to re-enter Bengal - next week - to visit the traditional Congress strongholds of Malda and Murshidabad.
The last-minute change in plans is being seen as the Congress and Rahul Gandhi reacting to the bombshell dropped by Ms Banerjee on Thursday. She ruled out a seat-sharing deal for the April/May general election, and said also that she is reviewing her party's membership of the INDIA group.
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The Bengal leader's comments have ramped up pressure on the Congress - chosen to head the opposition bloc - as it scrambles to convince allies, including the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab and Delhi, and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, to reach seat-sharing deals for the Lok Sabha election.
Hours after she slashed ties with the Congress, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann declared the AAP, which thumped its (for now) ally in the 2022 Assembly election, would contest all its 13 seats.
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Rocked by Ms Banerjee's scathing remarks - she also said "they (the Congress) are coming to my state... but did not have the courtesy to inform me..."- the re-shuffle is being seen as an attempt to buy the party and Mr Gandhi time to sort out the various issues with Mamata Banerjee. The Congress has, however, has played down any such talk, insisting the yatra route was always meant to be flexible.
Malda and Murshidabad are both "very much there" on the yatra route, the Congress has said.
During its time in Bengal the 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' will be joined by Left parties, including the CPI (M), which are allies of the Congress in the state and are part of the INDIA bloc. The Trinamool will not.
Taking their cue from Ms Banerjee, Trinamool leader Udayan Guha slammed the Congress, declaring the yatra will not aid its fortunes in a state in which it won just two seats in the last Lok Sabha poll.
Mr Guha also questioned the purpose of Rahul Gandhi's programmes in Bengal, which will take place in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar Dinajpur, and Darjeeling districts between January 25 and 28. The yatra will enter Bihar January 29 before returning to Bengal two days later.