Congress gets 48, Left 68 as they hammer out agreement on 116 seats

The Congress and Left Front on Thursday finalised a seat-sharing agreement for another 116 seats ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

The parties have so far reached consensus on 193 of the total 294 seats, of which the Left Front will contest 101 seats and the Congress 92. The 193 seats include 77 seats the Congress and the Left had won in the last Assembly polls.

The decision on the remaining 101 seats would be taken later, said state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury after a joint meeting at the state party headquarters. “In the second round of seat-sharing talks for the 116 seats for the upcoming West Bengal elections, it has been decided that the Congress will contest 48 seats while the Left will contest 68 seats. The arrangement has been finalised for 193 seats so far,” said Chowdhury.

“The Congress and the Left will put up a strong fight against the Trinamool Congress and BJP which are indulging in narrow politics in the state,” he said. Both parties will hold a joint rally on February 28. Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party MP Rahul Gandhi, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and other senior leaders will participate in the rally.

Earlier in a joint meeting on Monday, the Congress had agreed to contest 44 seats and the Left 33 seats they had won in the last Assembly polls.