New Delhi: What could be viewed as a big blow to Congress for its efforts to jointly face the BJP under the banner of I.N.D.I Alliance in the coming Lok Sabha polls, Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday ruled out an alliance between the two parties in their respective states with the Congress.

This announcement by the Punjab CM was made hours after West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee categorically stated that her party would not have an ties with the Congress in the sta

Since then, we have decided to go alone in West Bengal

te and would contest on all the Lok Sabha seats.

Needless to mention that it was Mamata who came up with the I.N.D.I. Alliance nomenclature for the opposition block during the joint opposition meeting attended by the AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal as well.

Asked about Banerjee’s decision to go solo and whether AAP will follow suit, Mann said, “In Punjab, we will not do anything (alliance with the Congress) like that. We have nothing with the Congress.”

He exuded confidence that his party would emerge victorious in all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Sources said that what the Punjab CM said had prior approval of Kejriwal to fight the general election in Punjab and probably Delhi alone.

They added that the Punjab unit of AAP refused to contest the election with the Congress in Punjab, accusing the grand old party of having a stubborn attitude regarding seat-sharing.

Earlier in the day, Banerjee announced that the TMC will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha election alone in the state, throwing a wrench into the Opposition INDIA bloc’s efforts to present a united front against the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

The TMC supremo cited failed seat-sharing talks with the Congress, a key member of the bloc, for her decision to go it alone in the crucial polls.

“Whatever proposal I gave them, they have refused all,” Banerjee said, adding, “Since then, we have decided to go alone in West Bengal.”

Banerjee’s announcement came a day after she traded fire with Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who criticised the West Bengal Chief Minister, called her an opportunist, and said that the party would contest the Lok Sabha elections without her assistance.

According to sources, the TMC’s offer of two seats to the Congress based on its 2019 Lok Sabha election performance, triggered tension among them, as the arrangement was deemed insufficient.