Assembly polls: Didi list sets off dissent within and without

Many see a similarity to the polls of 2001,when much of the anti-Left fight was reduced to sound and fury. What has been missing so far is the camaraderie one saw between anti-Left groups prior to the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. There is instead a sense of distrust,admit some senior leaders.

In the past couple of days,Trinamool offices have been ransacked in Egra-Patashpur in East Midnapore,considered a party bastion after the 2009 polls. Subhendu Adhikari,the partys commander in the Nandigram agitation and now its key leader in the Junglemahal fightback,sounded dejected when asked about the nominations. Ask Partho Chatterjee and Mukul Roy. They are the big leaders, he snapped.

Trinamool workers have revolted in 30 of the seats the party is contesting; in other seats,Congress leaders have vowed not to go by the sharing formula. In Malda and Murshidabad districts,two Congress strongholds,they have formed Save Congress Committes and put up dummy,Independent candidates.

The biggest jolt came on Wednesday from Bhangar near Rajarhat. Several thousand Trinamool supporters and panchayat functionaries decided to quit over the renomination of Arabul Islam,sitting MLA,who was accused of land grab with local CPM men during the Vedic Village scandal.

In some constituencies,such as Itahar,Dinhata,Canning East,Jalangi and Entally,candidates were changed after the first list. This will only help the Left,says Rezzak,a former Forward Bloc agricultural front leader in the Uttar Dinajpur-Murshidabad belt.

Rezzak,who defected in 2010 to join the Janabadi Forward Bloc under the leadership of Jayanta Roy,a former FB MP,and his men had been waiting to join the anti-Left forces. The manner in which the candidate was changed to accommodate a Congress dissenter has hurt our Janabadi Forward Bloc supporters. We will look for a third alternative, said Rezzak.

The selection of a former hardcore BJP leader,Shantilal Jain,known for a role during the Babri demolition movement,is said to have upset many of Mamatas Muslim followers.

One of the Trinamools key Muslim leaders,Idris Ali,initially fielded from Canning East,has been shifted to Jalangi where he faces a tough triangular contest as Adhir Chowdhurys Congress camp has fielded a dummy.

Partho Chatterjee brushed aside the protests. There will always be some dissent. All this will subside as the campaign peaks, he said.