"Big jolt to INDIA": Athawale after Mamata, Mann rule out alliance with Cong

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 25 : Weighing in on the TMC and AAP's decisions to go it alone in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, deepening the cracks in the INDIA bloc, Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale on Thursday called it a 'big jolt' to the Opposition alliance.
Speaking to ANI on Thursday, the RPI(A) chief said, "This is a big blow to the INDIA bloc. The Congress, which is the biggest partner in the alliance, has been dealt a body blow as the TMC, which holds the largest number of Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, has ruled out allying with it in the state. If Mamata Banerjee decides to part ways with the INDIA, it would deal a further blow to the Congress. The AAP also appears to be on its way out of the Bloc."
"It appears that many parties are silently moving away from the INDIA bloc. I am told that even (Bihar Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar might not stay with them. It would appear that the Opposition alliance is now on the brink of collapse," he added.
"(It appears that INDIA bloc has no fight left in them and we aren't in sorrow about it)," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, before Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra's scheduled entry into West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann said their parties wouldn't ally with the Congress in their respective states.
"I had no discussions with the Congress. I have always said that in Bengal, we are quite capable of fighting alone. I am not concerned about what will happen elsewhere in the country but we are a secular party and pack enough strength to defeat the BJP," the TMC supremo said.
In Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his party will also not go into an alliance with the Congress in the state, adding that the ruling AAP was capable of winning all 13 seats by itself.
"we will win all 13 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," Mann said.