"They are all leaving it slowly...": BJP MP Dilip Ghosh on "rift" in INDIA bloc

Paschim Medinipur (West Bengal) [India], January 27 (ANI): Stating that the Opposition INDIA alliance was being disintegrated in West Bengal, BJP Lok Sabha MP Dilip Ghosh claimed on Saturday that seats of the ruling Trinamool Congress will get reduced by half in the State and the Congress will be wiped out in the state in the coming Lok Sabha election.
"There is no alliance. They (the parties in the INDIA bloc) are all leaving it slowly. The TMC has itself said it will not have any alliance in West Bengal," Ghosh told reporters here today.
"All this is just to create a hoax among voters... Even CPM has said they're not in the alliance... Last time, Congress became half and CPM was wiped out, and this time, TMC will be reduced to half, and Congress will be wiped out," the BJP leader said.
His remarks come amid speculations that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to exit the INDIA alliance.
Earlier, the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said that TMC will contest the Lok Sabha polls alone in the state.
Meanwhile, Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury faced massive backlash for his calling Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien as a "foreigner" while responding to a reporter's question in Siliguri. Chowdhury on Friday conveyed his regrets to Trinamool Congress leader.
O'Brien held Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury exclusively responsible for the alliance not working in the state. Lashing out at the Congress State unit President, O'Brien alleged that Chowdhury was speaking the language of the BJP.
"INDIA alliance has two main detractors: BJP and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. He speaks the language of the BJP. The three reasons for the alliance not working in Bengal: 1. Adhir Chowdhury 2. Adhir Chowdhury 3. Adhir Chowdhury," O'Brien said. (ANI)