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With the Opposition alliance threatening to fall apart amid rising differences over seat-sharing, West Bengal Chief Minister and ruling TMC supremo, Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday asserted that her party would form the government at the Centre along with like-minded regional partners after the Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking at a public event in West Bengal, CM Mamata, however, ruled out an alliance with the CPI(M), claiming that it perpetrated killings of Opposition activists during their rule in the state. "I can assure you all that we will form the government in Delhi. As to how or in what manner we form the government at the Centre is something we will decide after the (Lok Sabha) elections through talks with like-minded regional parties," the TMC Supremo said. Ruling out trucking with the Left, which is a partner in the INDIA bloc, for the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal, she added, "The CPI(M) killed scores of people when they were in power here. They took lives and wrecked many households. They burned (anti-land acquisition activist) Tapasi Malik alive in Singur. People were set ablaze and their bodies were dumped in the Haldi River of Nandigram. We will never go into an alliance with the CPI(M). They perpetrated similar horrific crimes in Shantipur as well," the TMC chief added. The West Bengal CM had earlier ruled out allying with the Congress, saying her party was quite capable of going it alone in the state and defeating the BJP-led NDA. Her nephew and top TMC leader, Abhishek Banerjee, blamed the Congress for the breakdown in seat-sharing talks, saying the grand old party dragged their feet in the matter. Earlier, on Wednesday, the INDIA parties met in the national capital to discuss the seat-sharing agenda for the Lok Sabha elections. Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK leader TR Baalu and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury were pictured leaving Kharge's residence after the meeting. Cracks in the INDIA bloc widened with Mamata giving a cold shoulder to the Congress and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar dealing a further blow to the alliance after returning to the BJP-led NDA. One of the key architects of the Bloc, Nitish also pulled out of the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar as he took oath as chief minister for the ninth time with support from the NDA. "We had proposed to give two (Lok Sabha) seats in Malda to the Congress but they didn't agree to that. Now, they won't get a single seat in the state," Mamata said earlier. Blaming the CPI(M) for her falling out with the Congress over the years, the TMC chief said, "The CPM is the number one broker of the BJP. I took a lot of beatings from the CPI(M) and will never forgive them. I used to be on good terms with the Congress but my equations soured because of the Left." (ANI)
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