Abhishek Singhvi thanks Mamata for supporting him in RS

Kolkata: Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi today thanked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for extending her party's (AITC) support to his candidature in the Rajya Sabha election from the state, saying West Bengal was really a true ground where anti-BJP fight could be spearheaded across the country.

A day after the AICC decided to nominate the celebrated lawyer for the RS election and All India Trinamool Congress chairperson Ms Banerjee announced her support to Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the 5th seat after naming her party's four candidates for Upper House poll, Congress leader arrived here today and visited the state assembly. He was greeted by state Congress leaders like Abdul Mannan and Pradip Bhattcharya.

Later, he told a media conference that though he was from Rajasthan, but his mother was brought up in West Bengal. She studied in schools and college here and can still speak Bengali fluently.

Mr Singhvi said he has many relatives in the city and can stay with them. He said he was proud to be a candidate for RS from this state where many famous people like Tagore,

Netaji and Rammohan contributed selfless services to the nation.

He said the state was now true ground where anti-BJP crusade could be launched under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.

The Congress leader is expected to file his nomination papers on Monday.

Meanwhile, fight for the 5th seat in Rajya Sabha was sure after the Left Front announced Rabin Deb

as the RS candidate.

Opposition Left parties announced former minister and CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb as the Rajya Sabha candidate, while state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was lobbying for fielding CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, but the Marxist leader refused.

Trinamool Congress put up four candidates - Nadimul Haque, Subhashish Chakraborty, Abir

Biswas and Dr Shantanu Sen.

Ms Banerjee while announcing the party candidates yesterday, said " We will also support Abhishek Singhvi because he takes great interest of our state.'

Sixty-nine-year old CPI(M) leader Rabin Deb said he was picked up for Rajya Sabha candidate by the Left parties for strategic reason as " We cannot refrain from fighting the election without giving up fight to ruling AITC".

He said since the Congress unilaterally named Abhishek Singhvi and AITC

announced to support him, the Left decided to field a candidate and fight election to Rajya Sabha from the state.