Farmers Movement Archive

Congress-Left Front decide to contest 77 seats in Bengal; talks on for remaining

The Congress and the Left Front have decided to field candidates in 77 seats that were won by them in the 2016 West Bengal assembly elections. For the rest 217 seats, talks between the two parties are still on.“As of now, we have agreed on the principle that the 77 seats that were won by the Congress and the Left parties in 2016 Assembly elections will be in same status quo. At present, it's won't be possible to talk about the exact numbers. The sharing of the remaining 217 seats will be concluded by January 31,” said Pradip Bhattacharya, senior Congress leader.While the Congress had won 44 seats, the Left Front had won 33 seats in the last assembly elections in 2016. Leaders of Congress and the Left Front held a joint press conference after a meeting to decide the seat-sharing.The state assembly elections are just around the corner. The Congress and the Left Front partners, headed by the CPI(M), contested as allies in the 2016 assembly polls but could not stop the TMC from retaining power with 211 out of the state’s 294 seats. Since the Congress benefited more from the alliance and wrested 44 seats, the tie-up did not last.Also read: Karnataka HC bars Centre from sharing Aarogya Setu app data without user consentLeft Front chairperson Biman Bose said that the Left parties and the Congress would organise joint rallies on the Republic Day on Tuesday to protest against the contentious farm laws and in support of the farmers. He also said that on January 30 the Congress and Left parties would rally up to the Gandhi Bhawan.For the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal contenders in the upcoming West Bengal assembly election, change in vote share of the Left and the Congress may play a crucial role although the latter has weakened significantly in the districts since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls

Hindustan Times

26-01-2021

Kolkata