Didi pits mayor against Sudip

‘‘Out of the 42 seats, we will contest 29 seats. We will leave the remaining 13 for the BJP,’’ she said.

The ruling CPI(M) is set to allot Calcutta North-West to the RJD, which has little support in the area, leaving it to the Mayor and Bandopadhyay to slug it out.

Banerjee slammed Bandopadhyay, former chief whip of the Trinamool, saying he had sullied the party’s image. ‘‘He wrote to us that he wanted to contest from Calcutta North-West but we offered him Raigunj which he refused. Now we hear he would contest as an independent candidate. He has spoiled party’s image by doing so. Just one individual does not matter to the party. He can contest from anywhere, from heaven or sky, we are not bothered,’’ she said.

Senior leader Saugata Roy said Bandopadhyay would be suspended for six years if he contested against Mukherjee.

‘‘Mamata’s decision not to allow me to contest from my old constituency is rash, foolish and suicidal,’’ Bandopadhyay told reporters at Haryana Bhavan in north Kolkata.

‘‘I am emotionally perturbed today. I left Congress along with Mamata and now I am facing this kind of treatment. I can’t leave my constituency for which I worked hard. They are going to suspend me for six years but I wonder whether the party will survive that long,’’ Bandopadhyay said.

The Congress has already offered him support if he ‘‘renounces’’ the BJP. ‘‘Had he wanted to contest on a Congress ticket, we would have considered it. Even now if he seeks our support, we are ready if he leaves the company of the BJP,’’ said Manas Bhuniya, general secretary of the state Congress unit.