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The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has announced to field candidates in 4 Lok Sabha seats and 40 assembly seats in the state.
TMC has appointed Arya Kumar Gyanendra, the former Odisha Congress leaders, as the Convenor of the party in Odisha. The senior Congress leader has resigned from Congress to join TMC after meeting the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata today.
Gyanendra had recently hinted about his distance from Odisha Congress.
TMC had declared its intention to contest polls in the state last week, when Mukul Roy, the party's senior leader had come to the state to address a party worker's meet. However, the party today did not make it clear about the places where it will field candidates.
TMC has been trying to boost its presence across the nation after getting endorsed by activist Anna Hazare, who had advised the party to field its candidate in at least 100 seats. Apart from Odisha, the party wants to contest in Jharkhand and north-east states.
"Our leader Mamata Banerjee has given a call for 'Delhi chalo', TMC will be the third largest party in parliament and it will play a key role in government formation," Roy had said last week.
The party has also kept its door open for talks with ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over seat sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls. Any talks with Naveen Patnaik is welcome as it has maintained equal distance from Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the TMC leader said.
TMC had even managed to win seats during 2001 polls, but received a setback as its victorious candidate later decided to join BJD. Since then, the party had no credible and recognised face in the state and has performed poorly in the subsequent polls.
