Get real, we need Mamata, BJP — Bengal MLAs tell Sonia

These rebels have the blessing of former PCC chief ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury who is himself a staunch supporter of this alliance. This was announced by Saugata Roy, deputy leader of CLP who, along with Tapas Roy, MLA, met Choudhury at his house this morning to seek his consent.

Roy called a press conference at his room in the Assembly today to release the letter. “We will wait for Soniaji’s reply,” he said, “and will then decide on our next course of action.”

“The last general elections in 1999 to the Lok Sabha in the state threw up very divided results,” the letter said. “The Left Front got 50.58 per cent of the votes, the Trinamool Congress and BJP got 37.19 per cent and the Congress 13.29 per cent. The Trinamool led in 65 Assembly segments, the Congress in 20 and the BJP in 18. So it is amply clear that if the anti-Left Front parties fight separately, the people’s aspirations for removing the Left Front from power will not be fulfilled,” the letter said.

The letter also says that with only 13 per cent of the votes, the party cannot contest 294 seats since it has neither organisational nor financial strength.

“We understand the need to distance ourselves from the BJP which is our principal adversary at the national level…But we should not let the understandable antipathy for BJP to stand in the way of an adjustment, so that there can be a 1:1 fight in all the seats in the state.

“In the special circumstances, we would request you to give permission to the West Bengal Congress to have this limited seat adjustment with TMC, whose members were with our party only three years ago. Unless something is done urgently, we feel there will be a further exodus from our party,” warned the letter.

The letter also said that the leaders were tired of being accused as the B-team of the CPI(M) and being told that the central leadership has a secret deal with the CPM. “This is our chance to prove to the people that we are not that,” the letter also said.

The Trinamool Congress, expectedly welcomed the move of the leaders. “There should be concerted move by all anti-LF parties to oust the CPI(M),” Pankaj Banerjee, MLA and chairman of Trinamool’s policy-making body told The Indian Express. “We will wait for their next move,” he said.