Cong to fight panchayat polls alone

The Congress is afraid that the law and order situation in the state will deteriorate in the run-up to panchayat elections. The party conveyed its apprehension to Union Minister for Home Sushil Kumar Shinde,who visited the Congress headquarters on Sunday evening.

This was revealed today by West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya,who presided over a meeting to chalk out the party’s strategy for the panchayat elections. “We demanded that the Centre arrange adequate forces and that the polls be held in three phases,” Bhattacharya said. Shinde said he would take up the matter with the Chief Minister today.

The Congress also said it would contest the panchayat elections alone and the names of candidates would be decided at the local level.