TMC-Congress Rift Widens; No Tie-Up for Bengal Polls, Say Sources

Fresh cracks have emerged in the I.N.D.I.A bloc after the BJP-NDA's landslide victory in Bihar, with the Trinamool Congress and the Congress now openly at loggerheads in West Bengal. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi signals a renewed push for "Mission Bengal," the opposition alliance appears to be falling apart.

Sources in the TMC say the party sees no scope for a seat-sharing deal with Congress in the 2026 Bengal assembly polls, asserting that Mamata Banerjee alone must lead any opposition front in the state. The Congress, meanwhile, says it is prepared to contest the Bengal polls alone. The escalating public spat raises questions about whether the INDIA bloc can stay united ahead of a crucial electoral battle in a state the BJP is aggressively eyeing.