Talks on seat-sharing with Mamata Banerjee still on: Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi/UNI: Averring that a decision on seat sharing with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be finalised in a day or two for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday said talks with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress are still on.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Ramesh said, "Talks with Mamata Benerjee are on and doors have not been shut yet.
"I have been saying this for the last 40 days since the start of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, especially with regards to West Bengal that talks with Mamata Banerjee are still going on. Doors have not been shut yet. No final decision has been taken."
"In politics two days is enough for any decision," he added.
"We said the same thing about the Samajwadi Party but people questioned us. And now we have finalised the seat sharing issue. In a day or two a decision on seat sharing with AAP will also be finalised," Ramesh said.
The Congress leader said the Congress is seriously holding discussions with the INDIA alliance partners in West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir. Moreover, a final decision has been taken on alliance with the NCP and Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra.
On January 24, Banerjee announced that her party has no truck with the I.N.D.I.A bloc and would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections alone in the state following failed seat adjustment talks with the Congress.
She then said her party had wanted to give two of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state to the Congress in the state, but the latter wanted more, which was not acceptable to the TMC.