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Congress,
Trinamool reach accord for Bengal polls
Monday March 21, 2011 06:44:10 PM,
IANS
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Mamata
names 228 candidates, leaves 64 seats for Congress
The Trinamool
Congress Friday went ahead on its own and released a list of 228
candidates for the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections, leaving
only 64 seats for the Congress which was bargaining for more in
their inconclusive seat-sharing talks.
» |
New Delhi/Kolkata: Ending weeks of suspense, the Congress and the Trinamool Congress
Monday agreed on seat-sharing for the April-May West Bengal assembly
polls. Under the deal, Trinamool will contest 227 seats while the
Congress gets 65 constituencies.
Congress leader in charge of West Bengal Shakeel Ahmed told
reporters in New Delhi: "Congress will contest 65 seats and the
Trinamool Congress and junior partner Socialist Unity Centre of
India (SUCI) 229 seats."
A similar statement was made by Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee in
Kolkata.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who returned from a week-long tour
of Britain Sunday, played a key role in breaking the impasse, a
party leader told IANS in New Delhi.
"There is no issue of a compromise. We are committed to honour the
alliance and agreed formula," Ahmed said.
Congress sources said Gandhi was keen on the alliance to stay
together and on the seat-sharing accord to be sealed at the
earliest.
The first indication of the breakthrough came when Trinamool circles
in Kolkata said that Banerjee would not be announcing any candidate
for the 64 seats that she had originally kept for the Congress.
The Trinamool gesture came after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
the main troubleshooter for the Congress, spoke to Banerjee in
Kolkata over telephone, sources said.
Before that, Mukherjee met Gandhi to apprise her of the situation,
they said.
An office-bearer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) told
IANS that Gandhi was "for the Congress-Trinamool alliance to stay
together for the polls and after".
She did not "encourage the opinion of some state leaders to go alone
(in the polls)", he added.
On Friday, Banerjee had unilaterally announced the list of
Trinamoool candidates and left 64 seats for the Congress. She said
her party would announce candidates for the 64 seats too if the
Congress did not name its candidates by Monday.
Banerjee had complained that the Congress was "displaying undue
delay in announcing the candidates".
"We have waited for 18 days, and there is no response from the
Congress," she added.
Earlier Monday, in an apparent bargaining move, Ahmed said "the
party was preparing three lists -- for 64 seats, 90 seats and all
294 seats".
However, he said the Congress wanted the alliance to stay.
"All Congressmen will abide by whatever decision the Congress high
command decides," he added.
Voting for the 294 seats of the West Bengal assembly are to be held
in six phases from April 18 to May 10. The results will be declared
May 13.
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Picture of the Day |
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President
of India Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil addressing at the
inauguration of the National Festival of Tribal Dances, ‘PRAKRITI’,
in New Delhi on March 16, 2011. Union Minister for Housing
and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Culture, Kum. Selja, Union
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