Lok Sabha elections: India Bloc shocked by TMC’s claim on four seats in Assam

Guwahati: Trinamool Congress has declared candidates for four seats for the Lok Sabha elections in Assam, giving a second blow to the India Bloc. TMC leader Sushmita Dev told IANS, “The talks on seat sharing in Assam failed because of the Congress party. We are demanding four seats to contest the Lok Sabha elections here, but despite repeated discussions with Assam Trinamool Congress president Ripun Bora, the Congress was not finalizing the seat sharing.” Dev said, “We are thinking Seats have been selected wisely. However, the Congress has left everything in limbo.” The Trinamool Congress leader also criticized the Congress party: “There is no guarantee that if a candidate wins the election on a Congress ticket, he or she will join any other party. “It will not happen. Trinamool Congress is the only party in Assam which does not have any backdoor agreement with the BJP.” TMC has fielded candidates on four seats in Assam — Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Lakhimpur and Silchar. Except Lakhimpur seat, Congress had already announced candidates on other three seats. According to people familiar with the matter, Congress will face a big challenge after the announcement of candidates by TMC and CPI-M. Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: “I had earlier expected that the BJP would win 11 seats in the state, but now looking at the opposition parties we are hopeful that we will win at least 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state “