By IANS,
Kolkata : Trinamool Congress chief and union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday said she will not contest the coming West Bengal assembly polls as she will be concentrating on campaigning.
Banerjee, a top contender for the chief minister’s post, said if her party comes to power, she can always become a member of the state assembly within six months.
“I will not contest the elections. If my party comes to power, I will carry out my responsibilities. There is a constitutional provision to win a by-election within six months of taking charge. There is the example of (Bihar chief minister) Nitish Kumar. He also had not contested the assembly polls,” Banerjee told reporters at her residence in south Kolkata’s Kalighat before leaving for Delhi.
“Instead of confining myself to any particular constituency, I consider all the 294 assembly constituencies as mine,” she said.
Polling for the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be spread over six phases – April 18, 23 and 27 and May 3, 7 and 10.
In West Bengal, the Left Front led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which came to power in June 1977 and has since won every election, faces its most serious challenge this time.
The Left’s biggest threat comes from the resurgent Trinamool, whose supremo Banerjee has vowed to unseat the Marxists and form a non-Communist government.
Banerjee is tipped to become the chief minister if her party wins the polls in a likely alliance with the Congress and other small parties.