By IANS,
New Delhi/Kolkata: The Congress and the Trinamool Congress made yet another attempt Sunday to resolve the imbroglio over seat-sharing for the April-May West Bengal assembly elections, with the Congress saying the issue “will be sorted out in less than a week”.
“Today we had a formal discussion with Trinamool leaders in a very congenial and good atmosphere. And we both agreed that an alliance of both the parties in Bengal is the demand of the people of Bengal. People want us to fight unitedly against the Left Front,” Congress general secretary incharge for West Bengal Shakeel Ahmed told IANS in New Delhi.
“Things will be sorted out in less than a week. I am more than hopeful of an alliance,” Ahmed added.
Trinamool leader and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy, on his arrival in New Delhi Sunday, had a one-and-half-hour meeting with Ahmed and West Bengal Pradesh Congress chief Manas Bhunia.
Roy would now brief Banerjee, who is in Kolkata, on the talks.
The meeting between Ahmed and Roy assumes significance in the backdrop of the Congress seeking to contest nearly one-third of the 294 assembly seats in the state and Banerjee’s reluctance to part with that many seats.
Trinamool sources said Banarjee was inclined to give 58 seats to the Congress. However, the catch was that a large number of these seats were in the bastion of the Communist Party of India-Marxist led Left Front.
A Congress leader, on the condition of anonymity, said: “We had discussion in a very friendly atmosphere. They have offered us around 65 seats. But we are insisting not on numbers but about nature and quality of seats. We are hopeful,”
While on the one hand the Congress was seeking one-third of the seats in West Bengal, it was not inclined to share its pie in Assam, a Trinamool source said.
The Congress hardened its position on seat-sharing and cancelled the visit of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed to Kolkata Saturday.
Thereafter, Congress leader Ahmed Patel spoke to Banerjee to convey the Congress chief’s displeasure over her refusal to accede to the party’s demand for 98 seats.
It is learnt that in order to prevent the seat-sharing talks from reaching a point of no return, Banerjee rushed Roy to Delhi Sunday.
Polling in the six-phase elections will be held April 18, 23, 27, May 3, 7 and 10. Results will be out May 13.