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West Bengal Congress leaders reluctant to contest

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, FEB. 19. None of the front ranking leaders of the Congress in West Bengal is keen on contesting the coming parliamentary elections as they feel that winning will not be an easy job.

The State Congress president, Pranab Mukherjee, the former State party chief, Somen Mitra, the Congress acting president, Pradip Bhattacharya, and Maya Ghosh and Krishna Debnath, both key functionaries, have indicated their unwillingness to contest the poll.

All of them said they would rather busy themselves in organisational work. The election lost much of its excitement when news reached the State party office last week that Mr. Mukherjee may not be available as a candidate. Mr. Mukherjee was tipped to be the Congress nominee from the Jangipur parliamentary constituency in Murshidabad district.

In fact, he had several rounds of intense discussions with the party leaders on the advisability of his contesting a Lok Sabha poll. Mr. Mukherjee has been a Rajya Sabha MP, having lost Lok Sabha elections in the past.

The State Congress will field the three sitting MPs, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury from Malda, P.R. Das Munshi from Raigunj in North Bengal and Adhir Chowdhury from Behrampur in Murshidabad.

"Frankly, I don't think I would find time to fight an election as I have many responsibilities.

The final decision on my nomination will, however, be made by my leader, Ms. Sonia Gandhi [the Congress chief]," Mr. Mukherjee said.

According to many, the State Congress leaders are reluctant to enter the fray for two reasons. First, winning a seat has become difficult, with Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress eating into the Congress vote bank. Secondly, the understanding reached between the Congress and the leftists at the national level has put the party in the State on the defensive, giving an edge to its rival, Trinamool.

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