Bengal Elections: Congress deputes its four leaders to formalise seat sharing formula with Left

New Delhi: The Congress deputes four of its leaders to finalise their seat sharing formula with Left for the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal.The formula will be finalised before January 31, reports IANS.

According to the report Congress in-charge for West Bengal, Jitin Prasada, confirmed that four of its leaders Abdul Mannan, Pradeep Bhattacharya, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Nepal Mahata has been nominated to hold talks with the Left leaders.

The Congress had contested 92 seats in the previous elections, when the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress had swept the polls.

The Congress has a twin problem in hand. It is going to fight the elections against Mamata Banerjee who is an ideological ally at the Centre, while the rising force in Bengal continues to be the BJP.

Prasada, according to the report said that the Left and the Congress will fight both the fronts. "When it comes to Mamata Banerjee, law and order is a big issue whereas the BJP wants to erase Bengali heritage and history," Prasada qouted saying

In the 2016 Assembly elections, Trinamool had swept 211 out of 290 seats, whereas the Congress got 44, Left 24 and the BJP 3 seats.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the picture was again very different when the Trinamool got 22 seats, the BJP 18 and the Congress just 2 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool had secured 34 out of 42 seats, but the BJP was able to increase its vote percentage to 17 per cent.

It shows that both times Bengal behaved differently during Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. This time too, the BJP has decided to go for an aggressive campaign but Mamata remains a formidable challenge.

The Left and the Congress, on the other hand, are banking on exchange of votes. But last time the Congress did better than the Left as the Left was able to transfer votes to the Congress candidates but the vice versa could not take place.

The elections are also important for the Congress because after losing Madhya Pradesh to an internal coup, a substantial loss would further demoralise the party cadres.

(From IANS with edits)