Arabinda has promised support: Left - Asok demands notification to elect SMC mayor, says he doesn't want 'tussle' with state

TT, Siliguri, May 7: Darjeeling district Left Front today claimed that Arabinda Ghosh, the Independent who won from ward 15 of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation, had "assured" the combine of his support to form the civic board.

"We will form the board with the support of 24 councillors. There are 23 Left councillors and we will also have the support of Arabinda Ghosh. We have spoken to him and he has assured us support. It is just a mere formality that he will give us his conditions in writing in the next few days and we will assent to it," Darjeeling district Left Front convenor Asok Bhattacharya said at a news conference here today.

Bhattacharya, who is also the mayoral candidate of the Left, said a rally planned today had been called off.

"We had planned to take out a rally today demanding immediate notification for the mayoral elections. But as we came to know that the notification would be issued shortly, we decided to cancel the rally. The state should expedite the process of forming the board. In the past 10 months, there was not a single elected representative in the SMC. The administration and the police did not give us permission for the rally," he said.

According to sources, the Left Front wants to ensure that it has the majority mark - 24 seats of the total 47 - before the mayoral polls.

"There are reports that the Congress and the BJP councillors, six in total, might abstain from voting. Also, it is not yet clear if Trinamul will eventually field candidates for the posts of the mayor and the chairman as there are disagreements within the party. If no candidate is fielded by Trinamul, the Left Front will win uncontested. Even if Trinamul fields candidates and the Congress and the BJP councillors stay away, there will be 41 votes and the Left Front will need 21. It already has 23 councillors and it will not need the Independent's support," a source said.

He added: "Once the board is formed, the Left might face problems at the meetings if they do not have the magic figure. Also, there are chances that Trinamul might give a last try to form the board. That is why the Left leaders want to secure the magic figure even before the elections."

Bhattacharya said the Left did not want to get into a tussle with the state. "We want to work through mutual co-operation and not get into any tussle with the state. We will invite the state urban development minister, north Bengal development minister and the former mayor to the felicitation programme of the newly-elected councillors, mayor and civic chairman," he said. "We are against politics on developmental issues."

A delegation of Left councillors met the SMC commissioner today and requested him to see that the process to form the civic board was expedited.

The Left leaders who held a meeting here have decided to raise the demand for immediate polls to the three-tier Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad.

"Right from the panchayats, panchayat samitis to the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, there have been no elected representatives since June last year. Now that the civic polls are over, we want the state to hold the three-tier polls in Siliguri subdivision at the earliest. We have started selection of candidates in all three tiers," Bhattacharya said.

Political observers said after the SMC poll result, that is being interpreted as a comeback for the CPM and allies, the party was eager to take part in the rural polls. "The morale of Left workers is high and they are keen to win back the mahakuma parishad, along with the panchayats and panchayat samitis. There is no doubt that the political situation in Siliguri subdivision is congenial for the Left Front and the leaders want to make the best use of it," said an observer.