Left Front chairperson Biman Basu on March 30 joined senior Congress leader and Kolkata Uttar Lok Sabha candidate Pradip Bhattacharya as the Congress nominee began his election campaign from Gandhi Bhawan in the city’s Beleghata area.
Mr. Basu said the Left Front and Congress are united as a third alternative against the Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
“We want similar campaigns for all the constituencies. Those against the BJP and the Trinamool should come together,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front has announced candidates for 23 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal and the Congress has fielded candidates for seven seats. In 12 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, neither of the two has announced any candidate.
Differences have emerged over two Lok Sabha seats, Coochbehar and Purulia. Congress and All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) - a constituent of the Left Front - have both fielded candidates for the Cooch Behar seat. In Purulia, the Congress has announced its candidate and the AIFB too wants to join the poll fray.
“We will iron out our differences. The seven-phase elections give us some time to do so. We want to break the politics of binary of the Trinamool Congress and BJP,” Mr. Basu said.
The challenge is not only to accommodate the Congress and Left Front constituents but also the Indian Secular Front (ISF). ISF has announced candidates for eight seats. The West Bengal Congress leadership says it has nothing to do with the ISF, a party led by Furfura Sharif religious leader Abbas Siddique and his brother and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique.
The Congress has announced candidates for seats such as Baharampur, where State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is contesting, Purulia (Nepal Mahato) and Kolkta Uttar (Pradip Bhattacharya). For the Left Front, CPI(M) State Secretary Md. Salim is contesting from Murshidabad, Sujan Chakraborty from Dum Dum, Srijan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur, Dipsita Dhar from Serampore and Sayan Banerjee from Tamluk. ISF MLA Nausad Siddique is keen to contest from Diamond Harbour against Trinamool’s Abhishek Banerjee.
