Amid talks of an electoral understanding with the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front on Thursday announced candidates for 16 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal.
“We are not ruling out an alliance with the Congress. If the Congress wants seat adjustments, we are not going to say no,” Left Front Chairperson Biman Basu told journalists. Mr. Basu said that since the Left Front had announced candidates for only 16 seats, there is still scope for an electoral alliance with the Congress on the remaining seats.
A few days ago, CPI(M) State Secretary Md. Salim and State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had held discussions on an electoral understanding on Lok Sabha seats in the State. Mr. Chowdhury also added that the possibility of an electoral alliance with the Left Front was open.
14 new names
Mr. Basu said that among the 16 candidates announced, 14 are new candidates. The Left Front fielded CPI(M)‘s Saira Shah Halim from Kolkata South, Sujan Chakraborty from Dum Dum, Srijan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur, Dipsita Dhar from Serampore and Sayan Banerjee from Tamluk.
Asked how long the Left Front would wait for the Congress, Mr. Basu said the front would again hold discussions among its constituents on Saturday. The Communist Party of India, All India Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party are the other constituents of the Left Front.
The Left Front and the Congress have had electoral alliances since 2016 but they did not yield much electoral success.
The Trinamool Congress has announced candidates for all 42 seats, while the BJP has named candidates for 19 seats in the State.
