CPM, Cong strengthen Siliguri bond - Vote for any party but Trinamul, says Left manifesto for rural polls

Anindya Sengupta and Avijit Sinha, TT, Sept. 25: The CPM leadership in Siliguri today urged people to vote for any party but Trinamul in the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad (SMP) polls on October 3, strengthening speculation about an unofficial understanding with the Congress.

In its six-page poll manifesto, the Siliguri CPM has zeroed in on Trinamul as its principal rival. "People are waiting for the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad results. It's time Trinamul is defeated at any cost. Vote for any candidate who is competent. That may be the CPM, that may be the Congress. But don't vote for Trinamul. The ruling party is the principal enemy," the manifesto says.

There is a buzz that the Left has entered into an unofficial seat adjustment with the Congress for the October 3 polls in as many as 15 of the 22 gram panchayats and at least 18 of the 66 seats in the four panchayat samitis that would elect their representatives.

For the top tier of the rural body, the mahakuma parishad, the equivalent of the zilla parishad, the CPM and the Congress have fielded candidates for all nine seats, apparently trying to prove to critics that the adjustment is not on the basis of a broad-based agreement between the two parties.

In the Siliguri Municipal Corporation elections in April, the Left and the Congress had entered into a similar understanding. The Left won the elections.

The Darjeeling district secretary of the CPM, Jibesh Sarkar, today said all forces should come together and fight Trinamul. "We appeal to people to vote against Trinamul nominees. Trinamul means chaos and anarchy. They cannot be spared. Let this be our pledge. We are appealing to the people to do like this just to oust the Trinamul from the SMP."

Congress leader Abdul Mannan tonight welcomed the CPM's decision. "This is a step in the right direction. Time has come to ensure that the Opposition's votes are not split because this is necessary to drive Trinamul out of power."

Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya and Sarkar have been insisting that attempts should be made to forge an alliance with the Congress.

In support of their logic, they have cited the vote shares of the CPM, the Congress and Trinamul in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Trinamul had cornered 39.02 per cent of the votes while the Left had got 29.6 per cent and the Congress 9.7 per cent. The combined vote share of the Left and the Congress stood at 39.3 per cent. Asok Bhattacharya and Sarkar believe that the leadership at Alimuddin Street should consider this arithmetic and think about an understanding with the Congress.

Although the CPM congress at Vishakapatnam in April had concluded that the party would not have any alliance or adjustment with the Congress, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is believed to be in favour of an understanding.

Earlier this month, following a prod from Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, CPM leader Gautam Deb and the Congress's Arunava Ghosh formed a citizens' forum to prevent malpractice during the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation elections on October 3.

Asked about a CPM-Congress "arrangement" for the SMP elections, Asok Bhattacharya said today: "Yes, there are instances of seat adjustments between the two parties. But that is mostly at the gram panchayat level. People have understood that the common enemy now is Trinamul. So, they don't want to split their votes. They simply want to defeat Trinamul."

For the polls to the 18-seat Chathat-Bansgaon gram panchayat in Phansidewa, the CPM and the Congress have fielded nine candidates each. Similarly, in the 14-seat Phansidewa-Bansgaon-Kismat gram panchayat, the two parties are contesting seven seats each.

Asked about the SMP development, north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said: "It is evident that Left leaders are trying to replicate the so-called Siliguri model in the SMP polls through an understanding with the Congress. But they won't succeed."