TMC to contest on a few seats in Assam, one in Meghalaya: Derek O'Brien

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 23 (ANI): Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O'Brien said that besides contesting all the seats in West Bengal, his party is also in the fray in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya.
"A few weeks ago, the TMC Chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that TMC is fighting all the 42 seats in Bengal. We are also in the fray in a few seats in Assam and the Tura Lok Sabha seat in Meghalaya. There is no change in this position," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien said on Friday.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee broke ties with the Congress, stating that the party will go solo in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls, giving a big dent to the opposition INDIA bloc.
"I had no discussions with the Congress party. I have always said that in Bengal, we will fight alone. I am not concerned about what will be done in the country but we are a secular party and in Bengal, we will alone defeat the BJP," the TMC supremo said.
Following the TMC, the Aam Aadmi Party also announced to go solo in Punjab.
Meanwhile, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party on Wednesday announced a seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Apart from its traditional strongholds of Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Congress will also contest Varanasi, Ghaziabad and Kanpur.
The formal announcement of the alliance between the two India bloc parties, under which Congress will contest 17 seats and the Samajwadi Party the remaining 63 seats in electorally crucial state, was announced at a joint press conference.
The success of the seat-sharing pact is a boost for Congress which has faced hiccups on seat-sharing with Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. (ANI)