TMC to fight LS polls in 14 states: O'Brien

Bhubaneswar: The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019 in 14 states including Odisha, party spokesperson Derek O'Brien said on Sunday.

Addressing the mediaperson here, the TMC leader expressed his confidence over the BJP's defeat in the General Elections 2019.

In an apparent reference to the United India Rally at Kolkata's historic Brigade Parade Ground, O'Brien said that January 19 was a historic day as all the anti-BJP parties joined hand at the stage and that they are ready to fight the crucial Lok Sabha polls later this year.

"We are ready to fight elections. The TMC will fight coming Lok Sabha polls in 14 states including Odisha. January 19 was a historic day as all anti-BJP parties united on that day. In 2019, the BJP will be finished," news agency quoted O'Brien as saying.

The United India Rally, organised by West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on January 19, marked attendance of over 20 Opposition leaders who vowed to oust the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in 2019. Those leaders include Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, AP CM Chandrababu Naidu, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, NC leader Farooq Abdullah, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav among others. The only prominent figure who skipped the rally was Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The party, however, had sent Mallikarjun Kharge, who read a special message from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi at the event. Taking about TMC's home turf, O'Brien said, "In West Bengal, we will fight on all the 42 Lok Sabha seats". The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has set itself a target of 22-23 seats in the state. The party which currently holds two seats - Asansol and Darjeeling - in the state, has been bolstered with a number of senior TCleaders joining it ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.