The Trinamool Congress on Thursday announced that it will abstain from voting in the upcoming vice-presidential elections, NDTV reported.

The election to pick the country’s next vice president will be held on August 6. While the National Democratic Alliance has fielded former West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as their candidate, the Opposition has nominated former Union minister Margaret Alva.

Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee said that while there was no question of supporting Dhankhar in the elections, the party was also unhappy with the way the Opposition had picked its candidate, The Indian Express reported.

“We cannot support Jagdeep Dhankhar, who, when he was Governor of West Bengal, always tried to undermine the state,” Banerjee said during a media briefing. “We cannot vote in favour of him ideologically.”

A former MP, Dhankhar was sworn in as the governor of West Bengal in July 2019. Since then, he and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have been at loggerheads on several matters.

Dhankhar has been a vocal critic of Mamata Banerjee’s government in the state. On her part, Banerjee has accused Dhankhar of being a mouthpiece of the BJP-led central government. She has alleged that the governor interferes with the state government’s functioning.

During Thursday’s briefing, Banerjee alleged that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was not consulted regarding Alva’s nomination.

“They decided the candidate without consulting senior leaders like Mamata Banerjee, when the TMC has 35 MPs,” Abhishek Banerjee said. “So, after taking the opinion of 85% of our MPs, we have decided to abstain from voting in the vice presidential election.”

Abhishek Banerjee further said that while Mamata Banerjee and Alva share a good relationship, the country’s vice president cannot be elected on personal equations, ANI reported.

“A senior [Opposotion] leader reached out to Mamata Banerjee but only after the meeting,” he claimed, according to NDTV.

The stand by the Trinamool Congress comes just hours after Mamata Banerjee said that the Opposition must come together to contest the general elections in 2024.

“The BJP will not get a majority in 2024 and when that happens, all the Opposition parties will have to be united and form the government,” Mamata Banerjee said during an event in Kolkata. “However, it is my belief, that we will come on top when that happens.”