Following the INDIA bloc’s poor performance in the Maharashtra elections, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee on Tuesday held the Congress responsible for the alliance’s results, stating that they had “tremendous” hopes from the Congress, but it failed to deliver the desired outcomes.

Mr Banerjee said, “The Congress has failed to achieve the desired results either in Haryana or in Maharashtra. We had tremendous hope that the Congress would perform better. The INDIA bloc is there, but the expected results could not be achieved. This is a significant failure on the part of the Congress to meet expectations.”

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He further emphasised that the INDIA bloc requires a strong leader to effectively challenge the BJP.

“Today, if we aim to fight against the BJP, the INDIA alliance needs to be stronger. To make it stronger, a single leader is required. Now, who can be that leader? That is the core question. Congress has tried, and all experiments have been conducted, but they have failed,” the TMC MP added.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major blow in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, won only 20 seats, Congress secured 16, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed just 10 seats.

The BJP emerged victorious with 132 seats, while its allies — the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, secured 57 seats, and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) won 41 seats.

In Maharashtra, according to the seat-sharing arrangement within the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Congress contested the majority of seats–101–and was expected to lead the alliance. However, the party managed to win only 16 seats.

Notably, the ruling Trinamul Congress swept all six Assembly constituencies.

In Jharkhand, the Hemant Soren-led JMM guided the INDIA bloc to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly.

The JMM won 34 seats, while its allies collectively secured 22 seats. Among them, the Congress won 16 seats, the RJD bagged four, and the CPI-ML secured two seats.

In contrast, the BJP-led NDA managed only 24 seats in Jharkhand. The BJP won 21 seats, while its allies — the AJSU party, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and JD-U — secured one seat each.