Mamata, Cong seal Bengal deal

After 12 days of tussle, the clouds of uncertainty looming over the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance finally cleared on Thursday.

After 12 days of tussle, the clouds of uncertainty looming over the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance finally cleared on Thursday. Both parties announced that hitches over seat sharing had been settled and they would fight the elections together. The Trinamool would contest in 28 and the Congress in 14 seats.

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Politically this is significant because, in the past, where ever the combine had put up one-to-one fight against the CPI(M), the results went in favour of the Opposition.

And the Left fears a similar trend will emerge this time too.

“If we prevent polarisation of the anti-CPI(M) votes by avoiding triangular contests, we can wipe out the CPI(M) from Bengal,” said Mamata.

In the last three years, this was evident in the Lok Sabha bypoll in Malda and Assembly bypolls in Barasat, Shujapur, Nandigram and recently in Bishnupur.

In Malda and Shujapur, Mamata did not field a candidate against the Congress and in Barasat, Nandigram and Bishnupur, the Congress left the seats to the Trinamool. In the straight fights against the CPI(M), both Congress and Trinamool won.