Bengal: Left Front ropes in NCP, RJD

Nearly a month after the Congress put cold water over his efforts to forge a trade union of disgruntled elements within UPA by offering Cabinet berths to RJD and JMM leader Shibu Soren, NCP leader Sharad Pawar has jumped across to the Left Front, adding to the Congress unease in West Bengal. What is worse, he has taken along RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav too.

The Left Front has sealed an alliance with both NCP and RJD, giving them two seats each. The NCP will contest the Raiganj and Ras Behari Avenue seats. The Congress, sources said, is particularly upset over Lalu making common cause with the Left because the party believes he can influence the vital Bihari votes in the Assembly polls.

The move gels with the larger NCP design too. It is with the Left wherever the Congress is a key rival. In Kerala, NCP has been with CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front for long. In Assam, the NCP has entered into an understanding with the Left and a 14-party United Democratic Front representing various minority and ethnic interests. At a time when the Congress fortunes are on a downswing in the state, this alliance is poised to cut in to mainly the Congress vote.