Left Front, Cong seat adjustment talks in state collapse again

Kolkata: The blame game between the Left Front and the Congress in respect of seat sharing in Bengal took an ugly turn on Saturday with Left Front chairman Biman Bose alleging a game of 'money exchange' on the part of the Congress in foiling the alliance. State Congress president Somen Mitra refuted the allegation and blamed the Left for the non-alliance.

It may be mentioned that though none of the two parties have officially declared non-alliance but the sequence of events that have unfolded in the last few days have made it crystal clear that the two parties have moved far away from seat sharing for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"We wanted an anti-TMC and an anti-BJP alliance in Bengal so that there is a combination of all votes. But money is making the rounds everywhere. If there is involvement of so much money, then what is the point in coming up with an understanding? If 'money is honey', then politics will definitely take the back seat. They have flooded money to disturb seat-sharing between Congress and CPI(M)," Bose said.

State Congress president Somen Mitra shot back on the sidelines of a party meeting at Chanchal in Malda and said: "If they are talking of a game, then it is their responsibility to come out with the result. Nothing of that sort has taken place. They should make it clear who has given money and who has accepted the same. Ask them who has broken the alliance," Mitra added. It may be mentioned that the clash of opinions started when the Left Front announced its candidate list without proper consultation with the Congress.