CPI 'unable' to contest all seats

CPI would contest only four of the assembly five seats bargained from Congress due to delay in seat-sharing.

Despite the Congress yielding five assembly seats in Orissa to the CPI in a seat sharing arrangement for the upcoming polls, the left party would be able to set up its candidates in only four.

HT Image

The reason is that the last date of filing of nomination papers for the Bijepur seat had elapsed when the Congress announcement came on Friday.

The last date for filing of documents was March 31 for all constituencies going to polls in the first phase including Bijepur.

"Our candidate at Bijepur had not filed his papers as the Congress fumed at our announcement of names of candidates in the five constituencies. But finally the delay has cost us the Bijepur seat", a senior CPI leader said.

Incidentally, Subal Sahu, a Congress aspirant had filed his nomination papers from Bijepur and is expected to be persisted with there.

The CPI had announced the names of its candidates for the five seats -- Chhatrapur, Kabisuryanagar, Malkangiri (SC), Kakatpur and Bijepur -- in Bhubaneswar on March 27.

Congress sources, however, rejected the same describing the CPI action as "unilateral".

AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes said in Delhi on Friday that the party had left the five seats for CPI in Orissa.