Kolkata: With the CPM-Congress Lok Sabha seat bargaining yet to be sealed in West Bengal, Congress' state chief Somen Mitra on Tuesday wrote a letter to national president Rahul Gandhi, underlining the need for alliance with the CPM to restrict the rise of BJP in Bengal and also to dethrone the ruling Trinamool Congress in the 2021 assembly polls.
The two parties are yet to finalise their alliance in the state as Congress has been insisting on contesting from Raiganj and Murshidabad, where the CPM candidates won in 2014. In fact, CPM holds only these two seats at present in Bengal.
According to sources in the Congress, Mitra also mentioned about the enthusiasm of party workers and leaders to contest the 2019 polls from two seats – Raiganj and Murshidabad – that have been the bone of contention in the seat-sharing talks with the Left.
“I have written to Rahul Gandhi with my assessment. Now it is for our party president and the AICC to take a call on the matter. I can’t disclose anything further,”said Mitra.
The development comes a day after the CPM central committee, in a move to untangle the formula of seat-sharing between the two parties and consolidate anti-BJP and anti-TMC votes, proposed ‘no mutual contest’ for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in six seats currently held by the Congress and Left Front in West Bengal. However, according to Left sources, the party will hold a closed door meeting on March 8 to decide on the final nitty-gritties.
The state Congress leadership on Monday, reacting to the development had said there can be no compromise on its demand for the two parliamentary seats - Raiganj and Murshidabad, which are known to be Congress strongholds.
The Congress leadership had also said it is ready to fight the polls alone in case the Left Front does not leave these two seats, which were won by the CPM in 2014.
These two constituencies were earlier known as traditional Congress bastions. In the letter, Mitra gave details and statistics of the vote percentage and the number of votes different parties had polled in 2014, and how the BJP has increased its vote share in those two seats in several by-elections and in the 2016 assembly polls.
“Somen Mitra has urged the party high command to take the next step and talk to the Left leadership in Delhi to solve the impasse as the main objective is to defeat BJP at the Centre and the TMC in the state. Now the ball is in the court of high command,” said Congress sources.
While the Congress had bagged four seats in the state in the 2014 general elections, the CPM had won only Raiganj and Murshidabad seats.
Raiganj is represented by CPM's Mohammad Salim at present, Badaruddoza Khan represents Murshidabad.
“We are ready to fight alone in Bengal as it is the Lok Sabha elections where the fight is between the Congress and the BJP at the centre. But there will be no compromise on our demand for Raiganj and Murshidabad seats” said a senior Congress leader.
The two parties had a similar tactical understanding in the 2016 assembly polls but it failed to have an impact as TMC won 211 seats in 294-member state assembly.
In last three years, the BJP has outsmarted the Congress and the CPM to become the main challenger to the TMC in Bengal.
The CPM, on the other hand, from the start of the negotiations has been harping on the formula of the two parties putting up candidates in the seats they won last time.
The Marxists thus were ready to back the Congress in Baharampur, Jangipur, North Malda and South Malda - from where it won in 2014, though North Malda MP Mousam Noor switched to the Trinamool Congress a few days ago.
In fact, the CPM persuaded Left Front partner Revolutionary Socialist Party to opt out of the contest from its traditional constituency Baharampur, which has been electing Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress since 1999.
According to Left Front sources, in Tamil Nadu, discussions are on for seat sharing with the DMK. In Maharashtra, discussions are on with the NCP for contesting Dindori or Palghar seats where the CPI(M) independently polls around a lakh of vote each. In Bihar, talks are being held with the RJD for contesting Ujiarpur seat in Samastipur district.
In Odisha, where simultaneous elections will be held, the CPM will contest from Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat and a few Assembly seats including its sitting seat Bonnai. It calls on the people of Odisha to defeat the BJP. The CPM, along with other Left forces, will be working out the details particularly in the background of various struggles it has launched against the state government.
In West Bengal, the Central Committee had earlier decided that the CPM will adopt suitable tactics to ensure pooling of anti-BJP, anti-TMC votes. In accordance with this, the CPM proposes no mutual contest in the present six sitting Lok Sabha seats, currently held by Congress and the Left Front.
