KOLKATA: Even as the seat sharing deal between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress finalised on Monday, a rift within the alliance surfaced on Tuesday when the SUCI, an ally of the Trinamool Congress announced to field 17 candidates who would fight against the Congress candidates.
SUCI state secretary Pravash Ghosh said that his party would also not support five retired IPS officers who would contest the polls as Trinamool Congress nominees as they had forcibly impeded many ‘democratic agitation’ programmes of the SUCI when they were in service.
The SUCI, a Left-regimented party, having a strong support base in South Bengal districts, especially in South 24 Parganas, were against the Left Front Government.
The party had tied up with the Trinamool Congress in 2008, after the Nandigram and Singur incidents.
The SUCI, as an ally of the Trinamool Congress, had demanded 17 seats. But after a series of negotiations with the Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, it finally agreed for 14 seats. But the Trinamool Congress chief did not inform them about how many seats she would offer to the SUCI, Ghosh complained.
“We came to know that we would be offered only two seats Kultali and Jaynagar when Banerjee announced the seats. There were 14 Assembly elections held since 1952 in the state and the SUCI candidates have won the two seats 12 times since then. These two seats are our stronghold. So there is nothing by getting these two constituencies,” Ghosh said.
He said that the alliance between the two parties had become defunct after the Trinamool Congress chief offered the two seats without the latter’s consent.
“We too want the CPM rule should come to an end in the state. So in order to defeat the CPM we have decided to support the Trinamool Congress. At the same time, apart from Kultali and Jaynagar seats, we have decided to nominate another 17 candidates who will contest against the Congress nominees,” Ghosh said.
Meanwhile Congress sitting MLAs Abdul Khaleq Mollah and Ram Pyare Ram will reportedly contest as independent candidates from Garden Reach and Port Constituencies respectively. Their earlier constituencies - Metiabruz and Kabitirtha have been abolished after delimitation. The Congress state leadership wanted both Garden Reach and Port constituencies from the Trinamool Congress.