The Congress‘ renewed attempt at sealing a seat-share deal with the Trinamool for the general election may not end well, with sources telling NDTV Friday morning Bengal’s ruling party is unlikely to budge from its initial offer. Sources said the Congress had reduced its ask to five Lok Sabha seats.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, however, appears unmoved from her earlier position; she had said she would only give two to a party that won just that many in the 2019 election and zero in the 2021 state poll. 

And that seems to be her position still. “Even with binoculars we are unable to find a third seat for the Congress”, a Trinamool spokesperson, told NDTV, underlining the divide. 

“(However), if consensus is reached then an announcement will be made soon” the spokesperson added.

Sources said the Congress wants to contest three seats currently held by the BJP, including one in the party’s north Bengal bastion. This is in addition to the ones offered – Berhampore and Malda (South) – which it won last time.

The Congress wants Darjeeling, Malda (North), and Raiganj, all held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. Purulia – also held by the BJP – is also in the mix but is the least likely to be surrendered.

READ | Congress-Trinamool Seat Talks Back After Mamata’s Snub: Sources

The Congress – boosted by a rush of agreements with the Samajwadi Party and the Aam Aadmi Party  – reached out Thursday evening, hoping for a rapprochement after Ms Banerjee, angered by what she felt were unrealistic demands, cut ties last month and put her INDIA membership on hold. 

“… in Bengal only Trinamool can teach BJP a lesson…” she had declared, and followed that with a sharp put-down of her ally. “I told Congress… ‘You don’t have a single MLA here, I am offering two MP seats and we will ensure you win those.’ They said… ‘No’. So I said, ‘Now I won’t give a single seat’.”

The Congress, meanwhile, has also stepped up talks in Maharashtra, with Rahul Gandhi speaking directly to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray to resolve a deadlock over eight seats.

READ | Rahul Gandhi’s Phone Call With Uddhav Thackeray Amid Seats Row

The party is hoping to capitalise on a rush of positivity after closing deals with Akhilesh Yadav’s SP – for 17 seats in Uttar Pradesh – and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP – for three seats in Delhi and more.

READ | After Delhi, AAP-Congress Seal Seat Deal For Goa, Haryana, Gujarat: Sources

Seat-sharing has been one of the bloc’s pain points, with many of the Congress allies forcing the party to deal on their terms, particularly in light of its recent dismal electoral record. That disadvantage was reportedly highlighted by former party boss Sonia Gandhi during talks with the Samajwadi Party.

Sources said Ms Gandhi spoke to the Congress’ UP leaders and told their demands were “unrealistic”, and that they should prioritise a functional alliance and a stronger chance of winning the election.

READ | To Solve UP Seat-Sharing Deadlock, Sonia, Priyanka Gandhi Stepped In

Set up in June, the bloc has already lost Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) – a founding member – and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtra Lok Dal, which has influence among the Jat community in western UP. Both the JDU and the RLD have aligned with the BJP.

With just weeks for the election, the Congress is near the point of no return for seat-share deals, which is another reason why it seems the party is agreeing to secondary status in state-level alliances.

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In a stern response, the Supreme Court today asked the Tamil Nadu government why it is troubled by the Enforcement Directorate’s probe into an alleged illegal sand mining scam. The court’s response came after the government and probe agency both filed petitions in the case.

The alleged illegal sand mining scam has brought five district collectors of Tamil Nadu under the scanner, with the ED issuing summons to them. After the state government filed a writ petition challenging the summons, the ED requested the Supreme Court to halt the interference.

During the proceedings, Justice Bela M Trivedi asked, “How can the state file a writ petition? Under which law? Is this not against federal principles? Why is the state troubled by ED summons, and what is its stake in this matter?”

The court has issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government, seeking detailed answers to these queries.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the state, said that the ED has no authority to investigate non-scheduled offenses.

Justice Trivedi sought clarification from Rohatgi, stating, “Convince us about the state’s interests and how it can file a writ petition. Why is the state aggrieved? We will consider putting a stay on the order for a preliminary inquiry – but we want information.”

The court scheduled the next hearing for February 26, where the Tamil Nadu government is expected to present its arguments on the writ petition and address the Supreme Court’s concerns.

The Congress’ efforts to lock down seat-sharing deals for the general election have taken another step forward, sources said Friday, after talks with Maharashtra allies for 39 of the state’s 48 seats. 

This follows Rahul Gandhi’s outreach to Shiv Sena (UBT) boss Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s faction of the Nationalist Congress Party. The party already has deals with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party for 17 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 seats and Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party for three of Delhi’s seven.

The Congress has also reached out to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool to restart talks that fell through last month after the Bengal Chief Minister refused to budge from her offer – two of the state’s 42 seats.

Congress sources told NDTV the party had lowered its ask to five seats – but a Trinamool spokesperson played that down, declaring “Even with binoculars we are unable to find a third seat for Congress”.

READ | “Even With Binoculars…”: Trinamool Sources On Congress’ 5-Seat Demand

Back in Maharashtra, the INDIA allies are understood to have differences over eight seats, including two in Mumbai – South Central and North West – that the Sena (UBT) and Congress both want.

There is also a delay over demands by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi boss Prakash Ambedkar, who wants five seats, sources have said. Mr Ambedkar’s party contested 47 seats in the 2019 election but failed to win any. The VBA also contested 236 seats in the 2019 Assembly election and did not open its account.

The Sena (then undivided and allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party) contested 23 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 and won 18, including Mumbai South Central and North West. The Congress contested 25 and only won Chandrapur, while Sharad Pawar’s NCP (also then undivided) fought from 19 seats and won four.

The BJP dominated that election, winning 23 of the 25 seats it contested.

The Congress’ attempts at sealing seat-share deals in Maharashtra – a key state since it sends the most MPs to the Lower House after UP – have been complicated by defections, most recently Ashok Chavan.

READ | “Congress Changing Is Not The Problem, Not Changing Is”: Ashok Chavan To NDTV

The former Chief Minister quit and joined the BJP, in the space of 48 hours, and is now a Rajya Sabha MP. That was after senior leader Milind Deora walked out and into Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Sena.

Sources have said Mr Thackeray’s party, aware the Congress is on the back-foot, more so given its recent poor electoral record, wants a greater share of Lok Sabha seats from state capital Mumbai.

All parties involved, however, are keen to work out a deal, since they understand the 2024 election is, in many ways, a battle for survival against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll-winning machine, the BJP.

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