A day after State Congress leaders held a meeting with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) State secretary, senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said on Saturday that the discussions were “on track” and the meeting was held on a positive note. Apart from Mr. Mannan, those present at the meeting were senior State Congress leaders such as Pradip Bhattacharya and Somendra Nath Mitra.
“The disagreements over some seats have been resolved and others are being discussed. It is an ongoing process and more such discussions will be held”, Mr. Mannan told The Hindu . The meeting was held late on Friday evening at the office of Ganashakti , the media organ of the CPI(M).
However, Congress leaders refused to comment whether the issue of the Left fielding candidates in several seats in Murshidabad district had been resolved.
“We are not looking at Murshidabad at the moment”, a senior Congress leader said. Congress sources said that both sides had “agreed that one of them will withdraw its candidates”, if a situation occurs where the Trinamool Congress (TMC) may benefit from a “friendly fight” of the Left and the Congress. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, however, indicated that the party would put up candidates in 31 of 32 seats that it had won in 2011.
On Thursday, the Left Front put up candidates in over 12 seats where the Congress had decided to contest earlier. At this point, the Left Front and the Congress are negotiating with each other on 20 seats where both sides are keen on putting up candidates. They are, however, trying to avoid a direct fight.
Following the Left’s announcement of candidates in the Congress bastion, Mr Bhattacharya earlier told The Hindu that the decision was “unfortunate” and indicated that the alliance may collapse.
However, things started changing from Friday as senior leaders of the Left Front indicated that a fresh round of negotiations was possible. The CPI(M)’s Central Committee member Shyamal Chakraborty said that if it was evident that the Trinamool Congress would gain from the “friendly fight” between the Congress and the Left in a few seats, then the candidates may “withdraw the nomination”.
