Cong seeks to fight 130 seats in WB, Left rejects demand

Bargaining for the main face of its alliance with the Left Front in the coming West Bengal Assembly elections, the Congress has sought to contest in as many as 130 out of 294 seats with a plan to finalise their joint candidates list within this month. But the Left parties have clearly rejected the Congress’ demand, leading to an argument over the seatsharing formula between the two partners at a meeting on their alliance in Kolkata on Sunday.

Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who placed his party’s demand for 130 seats, became so angry at the Left’s response that he almost stormed out of the meeting. Chowdhury, who is also the state Congress chief, was stopped by Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Bhattacharya, who was present along with the party’s Assembly leader Abdul Mannan.

At the meeting, Chowdhury named six districts— Malda, Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Bankura and Purulia — where the Congress would field a majority of its 130 candidates, party insiders said. Left Front chairman Biman Bose and other leaders, including CPI(M) state secretary Suryakanta Mishra, reminded the Berhampore MP that Left candidates should be fielded in these districts in

view of their votebank.

Ironically, the Congress, which won 44 seats in the 2016 Assembly polls, has been reduced to 24 in the House after 19 of its MLAs defected to the ruling Trinamul Congress and one to the BJP. The Left, which had 33 MLAs five years ago, has been reduced to 25. With no outcome from Sunday’s meeting, the two partners will sit again on January 25 before an announcement on their seat-sharing formula and candidates’ list, possibly on January 28.

Silent on the Congress’ demand of 130 seats, Chowdhury later said: “The Congress and the Left have to fight the Assembly polls unitedly as a secular democratic

alliance to defeat a communal BJP and an autocratic Trinamul Congress. We are heading in that direction. Our meeting, held in a cordial environment, was not only peaceful but also a friendly discussion through exchange of opinions. None of us wants to put anything onto each other. We want to finalise our seat-sharing within this month. It is a process and cannot be finalised overnight. As the Left will discuss it among its constituents, we will do the same.”

Echoing him, Bose said: “There is no gap in understanding between the Congress and the Left. There is no bitterness between us over the lack of results on the seat-sharing.”