Deadlock over Purulia seat hinders seat sharing talk between Left-Front & Congress

Kolkata: At a time when both the parties are seeking to enter a seat sharing agreement in Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s announcement of fielding Nepal Mahato from Purulia Parliamentary constituency has further complicated the relation between the CPI(M) and its Left Front ally Forward Block which has refused to let go of that seat.

Adhir has announced that senior Congress leader Nepal Mahatao will likely be fielded in the Purulia seat. Following the announcement, Forward Block’s state president Naren Chattopadhyay is learnt to have clarified that his party will be fielding its candidate from that seat as part of the Left Front alliance. Although the CPI(M) leaders were trying to convince the Forward block to spare the seat for Congress, the present developments have further complicated the situation. The CPI(M) has also clarified that if TMC-BJP combination has to be cornered, compromises need to be made in a bid to seal the deal with Congress. However, Chattopadhayay has now put the ball in CPI(M)’s court, asking it to publicly announce whether it will go with the Congress or support the decision of its Left-Front ally Forward Block. He is of the opinion that Purulia has long been the fort of Forward Block where it fought against the “zamindars of Congress”. “We can’t forget history”, he remarked.

Sources said that the CPI(M) leadership wants to spare Purulia seat to Congress which in comparison to Forward Block has better organisational structure there.