Mamata Banerjee announcement unilateral: Congress

A day after Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee announced her list of candidates for the coming West Bengal elections after seat sharing talks with Congress hit a roadblock, the latter said on Saturday the decision was unilateral and not agreeable to the national party.

“She announced seats unilaterally. We are not in agreement with the list announced by her,” said Ahmed Patel, the Congress leader and political secretary of party chief Sonia Gandhi.

“After Holi we will take the final call,” said Patel speaking to TV channels.

Mamata Banerjee on Friday announced the names of candidates for 228 seats leaving 64 for Congress in West Bengal assembly polls, daring the latter to come up with a decision by Monday as an official seat-sharing impasse with their partner at the centre persisted.
Congress had earlier asked for 90 seats.

Mamata Banerjee declared the names at a press conference amid earlier reports that Congress could agree to a poll alliance after days of haggling over seats.

“We have kept 64 seats for Congress since the door for an alliance is still open. They are a big party but in Bengal we are the main party,” she said.

Mamata did not leave any seat for Congress in Kolkata, despite demands by the latter.

“We waited for 18 days since announcement of polls because we are for alliance. We have sent our representative to them again and again and also I went myself as you know,” she said.

She thus threw a gauntlet to the Congress by calling another press conference on Monday, which can be interpreted as her press meet to name candidates for seats she had earmarked for Congress.

Trinamool Congress left two seats for its alliance partner Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), a left party outside the ruling Left Front.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had earlier set a Thursday deadline for the Congress to reach an agreement with her party over sharing constituencies.

Later the chances of a seat sharing arrangement brightened after Congress chief Sonia Gandhi sent the message that she would like to keep the alliance in West Bengal.
So Banerjee did not jump her guns and showed restraint after earlier indicating that the TMC might announce names of candidates for the seats it has earmarked for itself on Thursday.

She announced it on Friday finally.

A meeting between Banerjee and the Congress? Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday last had failed to thrash out a seat sharing formula between the two allies.

West Bengal is going to vote from Apr 18, in six phases, for its 294-seat Assembly, in a watershed election with the ruling communists facing the most difficult poll battle of its tenure owing to the growing strength of Mamata Banerjee’s party and setbacks over its land acquisition policies.