Congress gets a jolt in north Bengal

The Congress on Wednesday got a jolt in north Bengal after Akhil Bhartiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) decided to field its own candidates in seven Assembly constituencies and to support parties other than the Congress in eight seats. Pramod Giri reports.

The Congress on Wednesday got a jolt in north Bengal after Akhil Bhartiya Adivasi Vikash Parishad (ABAVP) decided to field its own candidates in seven Assembly constituencies and to support parties other than the Congress in eight seats.

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The ABAVP’s meeting at Banarhat in Jalpaiguri district on Wednesday decided to contest in six Schedule Tribe reserved seats in Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts and one general seat at Chopra in North Dinajpur. However, the meeting failed to reach a consensus on the names of the candidates, which would officially be declared on Thursday.

As per the meeting’s decision, the ABAVP would contest from Nagrakata, Malbazar, Kalchini, Madarihat, Kumargram constituencies in Jalpaiguri district, Phansidewa in Darjeeling district and Chopra.

According to sources, ABAVP state committee secretary Tej Kumar Toppo would contest from Malbazar and the ABAVP’S trade union leader Sukra Munda would contest from Nagrakata.

The probable candidates for Kalchini, Madarihat, Kumargram, Phansidewa and Chopra are Sandip Ekka, Hiralal Minz, Dipak Kujur, Thomas Ekka and Kishore Oraon.