Left-Congress-ISF Alliance
Bengal: Left, Congress to hold meeting today to resolve deadlock over alliance with ISF
Kolkata/IBNS: The Left parties and Congress will Monday hold a meeting to resolve the deadlock occurred over an alliance with Furfura Sharif cleric Abbas Siddiqui's Indian Secular Front (ISF) in less than a month the West Bengal polls begin.
While the Left has conceded 30 seats to the ISF, Abbas wants some more from the Congress.
Reportedly, the ISF wants to contest in districts Murshidabad and Malda, the only place in West Bengal where Congress is a dominant force, leading to a deadlock in the alliance.
In this context, India Blooms has learnt a meeting is set to be taking place at the CPI-M headquarters at Alimuddin Street here sometime between afternoon and evening.
Congress-ISF rift
The Left, Congress and ISF came together at the Brigade rally Sunday but the tension within the alliance was palpable.
The rift between the ISF and Congress was evident when Abbas during his speech acknowledged the Left parties and indirectly slammed the grand old party, represented by Lok Sabha MP Adhir Chowdhury in the state.
"I thank the Left leaders for giving us 30 seats to contest in the upcoming assembly elections... People may ask why I am not saying the same things for Congress. This is because we have come here to get our due and not to appease," Abbas said.
Even before the brigade rally, the rift between the Congress and ISF over the seat-sharing deal were seen as the United Front is yet to finalise the pact for the upcoming polls, which will begin on Mar 27.
After the rally, Abbas once again indirectly attacked Chowdhury saying, "Sonia Gandhi (Congress interim national president) may want the alliance but someone in the state is causing a delay. I think after this statement, things will be sorted out within a few days."
Responding to Abbas' allegation, Chowdhury, who represents the Baharampur constituency in West Bengal, said, "Congress' deal is taking place with the Left. We have no idea about anyone else. First we should know the number of seats we are fighting in, then we can think about sharing with any other party."
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