In what could be perceived as a shift in position of the State Congress leadership on the issue of seat-sharing with the Trinamool Congress for the forthcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal, emphasis is being put more on how many “winnable” seats its bigger electoral partner in the State is agreeable to keeping aside for it rather than the number of seats it will contest from.
“What needs to be determined is the number of winnable, qualitative seats as well the total number of seats from where we will contest as an alliance partner,” president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC), Manas Bhunia, told The Hindu over the telephone from New Delhi on Thursday.
Dr. Bhunia, who called up on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said that matters relating to seat sharing with the Trinamool were discussed “and I was happy to express my views on the issue.”
“The final decision on seat-sharing as far as the Congress is concerned will be made by the party's high command and I will abide by it,” he said.
Ms. Gandhi is reportedly keen to ensure that the alliance does not compromise the dignity and honour of the party.
What is not ruled out, however, is that for the sake of keeping the electoral pact intact the Congress settles for some sort of a climb-down from its State leadership's claim to 98 seats — one-third of the total number in the State, a proposal that has been virtually rejected by its alliance partner.
The Trinamool, which has already started working on its own list of candidates, has shown no signs so far of leaving more than 60 seats for the Congress. Another bone of contention is the Trinamool seeking to contest from certain seats in parts of north Bengal where the Congress believes it is the stronger party.
In such a situation that the emphasis seems to be on how many seats the Congress finally contests from can be considered “winnable” rather than the “1:3 formula” with the Trinamool, which according to Dr Bhunia “is our proposal, our expectation,” even as he insists that all Congress sitting MLAs should be given seats.
“Party has become a stronger force”
Dr. Bhunia pointed out to Ms. Gandhi that the Congress had become a stronger force in the State since the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
“The alliance is there to stay, but what has to be ensured is that the alliance process is normal and healthy, with the Trinamool showing a minimum sense of broad-mindedness when it comes to seat sharing. There has to be reasonability in negotiations [with the Trinamool] without compromising on our dignity and respect,” he asserted. Dr. Bhunia has also discussed the issue with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
