Kolkata: Amid speculation that the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) are joining hands for the upcoming Assembly Elections in West Bengal, the ruling Trinamool Party on Monday slammed the grand old party for entering into a 'shameless alliance'.
TMC leader Derek O'Brien even drew parallels between a watermelon and the Congress' condition in West Bengal, saying: "The Congress party in Bengal is like a watermelon - they are green from outside and red inside. They have got this alliance with CPI(M), it is a shameless alliance. We all know they have always been together like the watermelons," Derek told ANI.
The two parties have been in touch with each other over a possible alliance in West Bengal though a formal announcement of a likely tie-up for the Assembly polls is only expected by next week.
Another Left party, CPI, has meanwhile ruled out any alliance between the Left and the Congress in West Bengal.
CPI national secretary Amarjeet Kaur yesterday said there would be "no" such tie-up in the state.
"As of now, we'll not have any alliance with Congress in West Bengal and there is no possibility of having direct alliance with Congress in future too," Kaur told reporters.
Kaur, however, said all those parties which wanted to uproot Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee should take a call as which side they wanted to be.
Assembly Elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Union Territory of Puducherry will be held between April 4 and May 16 spread over 43 days. Counting of votes will be held on May 19.
WATCH: TMC's Derek O Brien explaining the Congress-CPI(M) alliancehttps://t.co/5q1JoT6uJJ
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 7, 2016
