Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi has given her nod to alliance with the Left Front in West Bengal for the Assembly by-polls following the party’s dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls in the State, top party sources said on Saturday.
Ms. Gandhi held a meeting with West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra in Delhi on Friday night and discussed various organisational issues, including the bypolls, they said.
“We informed Soniaji about the seat adjustment we are having with the Left Front for the by elections. She told us if the Left Front agrees then both parties should go for it,” Mr. Mitra said.
The seat adjustment decision was taken by the Congress State leadership when the party had no president after the resignation of Rahul Gandhi from the post.
According to the Congress sources, Ms. Gandhi’s go ahead is politically significant given the TMC’s recent call for uniting of all Opposition forces in Bengal to stop the march of the BJP.
“It is quite clear that Soniaji despite sharing a good relation with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, has chosen the Left for forging an alliance. One of the reasons behind it is that in 2021 Assembly polls the fight will be against the TMC government. So just in the name of opposing BJP we can’t align with it [TMC],” a senior Congress leader.
