Cooch Behar overlaps Cong and Left’s Bengal lists, shadow over INDIA bloc seat-sharing

In its third list of 46 candidates, the Congress named Piya Roy Chowdhury as its candidate for Cooch Behar where Left has fielded Nitish Chandra Roy of Forward Bloc

The Left Front, on the other hand, has so far announced 21 candidates out of the total 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal. (File Photo)

In a surprise move, the Congress has named its candidate for Cooch Behar parliamentary constituency in north Bengal, raising questions on the ongoing seat-sharing talks with the Left Front, an INDIA bloc partner, in West Bengal for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier, the Left Front had nominated Nitish Chandra Roy of Forward Bloc to contest from Cooch Behar against the incumbent BJP MP and Union minister Nisith Pramanik.

In its third list of 46 candidates, released on Saturday evening, the Congress named Piya Roy Chowdhury as its candidate for Cooch Behar seat.

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Before that, the Congress had named candidates for eight Lok Sabha seats – Raiganj, Malda Uttar, Malda Dakshin, Jangipur, Baharampur, Kolkata Uttar, Purulia and Birbhum.

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The Left Front, on the other hand, has so far announced 21 candidates out of the total 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.

Cooch Behar is the only Lok Sabha seat where both the Congress and the Left have announced their candidates despite both parties publicly hinting at the “ongoing seat-sharing negotiations”.

While there has been no official word from both the INDIA bloc partners on whether the latest development was the fallout of the problems in their seat-sharing negotiations or whether there will be a “friendly contest” between them in Cooch Behar, a senior Congress leader on the condition of anonymity told The Indian Express insisted that the talks with the Left Front are still on. “We are yet to get an official stand on this. Therefore, we cannot formally comment on this. We can say that both the parties are holding talks. A final list of the candidates will be released. There can be some changes or some withdrawals. But we cannot say anything more now,” said the senior Congress leader.

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Also Read | Congress and Left Front close in on Bengal Lok Sabha deal, but some hurdles remain

A senior CPI(M) leader also played down the Congress fielding its candidate from Cooch Behar. “We want all the parties opposed to the TMC and the BJP to come together. We are trying to sort out the differences regarding some seats,” the senior CPI(M) leader said.

Earlier, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim, who has been fielded from Murshidabad, said, “We are holding discussions with other parties and making all attempts to forge a united alliance. We are stitching together an alliance of different political forces that are opposed to the BJP and the TMC…We have put in our efforts, and there are positive signs. We are hopeful. It is a work in progress.”

The ruling TMC in the state, which is also a part of the INDIA bloc, has gone ahead and named candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha seats.