LF contesting two Bengal LS seats held by Congress

Kolkata: The Left Front on Wednesday announced its candidates for two of the four Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal it had so far left for the Congress, as chances of a seat adjustment between the two parties receded further.

Zulfiqar Ali would be the candidate from Jangipur, and Biswanath Ghosh from Malda North, LF chairman Biman Bose said in a statement.

Both nominees are from LF spearhead Communist Party of India-Marxist.

The Congress had won both the seats in the 2014 general elections.

Two other constituencies held by Congress-- Malda South and Baharampur - have still been left vacant by the Left.

"In a bid to consolidate the anti-BJP, anti-Trinamool votes in the state in the 2019 General Elections, a seat adjustment between the Left and the Congress was proposed, but it did not work out in any way. Congress' decision to field candidates in the two seats held by the Left created complexities in seat adjustment," Bose said in a release.

Bose was apparently refering to the Raiganj and Murshidabad seats, that were won by the LF in 2014. The Congress has nominated former Union Minister Deepa Dasmunsi as its candidate for Raiganj and Abu Hena for Murshidabad.

However, Bose said the LF would reconsider its decision to put up candidates in Malda North and Jangiour if the Congress withdrew candidates from Raiganj and Murshidabad.

"We have fielded candidates in Murshidabad's Jangipur and Malda district's Malda North seats today. However, as per previous understanding with the Congress, if they decide to withdraw the candidates from the two seats won by Left in 2014, we would consider the matter with a positive outlook," he said.