West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sustained a minor injury in a car accident on her way to Kolkata today, according to reports. The incident occurred when her vehicle abruptly stopped to avoid colliding with another car, according to officials quoted by news agency PTI.
This is the second injury for Banerjee, who suffered a leg sprain during a trip to Spain last September and had previously injured the same leg while disembarking from a helicopter.
Earlier, The Chief Minister declared that her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal independently after failed seat-sharing discussions with the Congress, a partner in the 'INDIA' bloc alliance. Banerjee stated, "I had given them [Congress] a proposal [on seat-sharing], but they refused it at the outset. Our party has now decided to go alone in Bengal."
Banerjee refuted media reports about seat-sharing talks and asserted not having any communication with the Congress on the matter. "Now, we have decided that there is no relation with the Congress in Bengal," she emphasized, declaring a complete separation between the TMC and Congress in the state. These remarks come a day before Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Nyay Yatra enters West Bengal.
Addressing the situation, Banerjee commented, "Let the Congress fight 300 seats on its own. The regional parties are together and can contest the rest. However, we will not tolerate any interference by them [Congress] in Bengal." The TMC's decision to go solo in West Bengal signals a significant shift in political alliances and sets the stage for an interesting electoral landscape in the state.