Amid INDIA rumblings in Bengal, CPI(M) ups the ante: Will skip Rahul Yatra if TMC joins it

In a sign of rifts within the Opposition INDIA alliance, the West Bengal CPI(M) has made it clear to the Congress that while supportingRahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra the party would give the Yatra a miss in the state if the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) participates in it.

The CPI(M) has sought “assurance” from the Congress that the TMC would not be part of the Yatra when the former joins it.

Rahul’s Yatra 2.0, which kicked off from Manipur on January 14, is scheduled to enter Bengal on January 25, where it is slated to traverse a stretch of 523 km across seven districts over several days.

According to Congress sources, a senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader called up the Bengal CPI(M)’s state secretary Mohammad Salim from Delhi Sunday to invite him to join the Yatra when it enters the state.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Salim said, “We give full support to Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra. But, we made it clear we will not participate in the Yatra with any political force who helped BJP to grow their organisation in West Bengal. It is Trinamool Congress which paved the way for BJP in Bengal to expand its organisation.”

Apart from the Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M) are among the majorconstituents of the Opposition INDIA bloc formed to take on the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Congress sources said the party will also invite the TMC to participate in the Yatra, but the latter might refrain from joining it over their differences in sharing of the Bengal seats for the Lok Sabha polls. A senior state Congress leader said, “TMC wants seat-sharing confirmation from our leadership. This is impossible right now because our high command will not allow this type of bargaining. We expect that without finalising