March 25, 2009 2:19:20 am
Its tribal woes for both the Trinamool Congress and the Congress.
Unhappy that both the parties did not consult them before announcing their alliance,the tribal allies of the Congress and the Trinamool have decided to field their own candidates in some of the Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Congress partys ally,Jharkhand Party (Chunibala),has threatened to field its candidates in the five tribal-dominated constituencies Midnapore,Jhargram,Bankura,Purulia and Bishnupur.
When the Congress made an alliance with the Trinamool,we were not even consulted. We have been with the Congress for years. We had only asked the Jhargram seat,but the Congress denied us. We have,therefore,decided to field our own candidates in five constituencies. We have given the Thursday deadline for the Congress to rethink its decision. After that,we will announce the names of our candidates, Chunibala Hansda,chief of Jharkhand Party (Chunibala),told The Indian Express over phone.
Best of Express Premium
The Congress too admitted the problem but said the party will resolve it. There are some problems,as they wanted the Jhargram seat. Talks are on and we will resolve the issue, said senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharjee.
The Trinamool,too,is facing similar problems with its tribal ally Jharkhand Disam Party (JDP). The JDP has also decided to field candidates in a number of tribal-dominated seats. According to sources,the party wanted to contest from one of the three Lok Sabha seats Jhargram,Bankura and Purulia. But after the Trinamool denied JDPs claim,the party decided to contest from several constituencies.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
