There is no scope of reconciliation between Left and Congress on electoral understanding in West Bengal, said Somen Mitra, the chief of the state Congress.
Accusing the CPI(M) of high-handedness during talks for the collapse of the proposed alliance, he said a seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties was a closed chapter now.
“It is true. The Congress in West Bengal is a weak force. In the past 20 years, we have been forging poll alliances with either the TMC or the left front. This time around, we are getting an opportunity to go alone and assess our real strength, thanks to Rahul Gandhi,” he said in an exclusive interview to Manorama.
Excerpts:
Was Rahul Gandhi keen on striking an alliance with the Left front?
Yes, Rahul was optimistic about reaching a seat-sharing understanding with the Left. But he made it clear that it should not happen at the cost of our self-respect and dignity. To put it simply, we opted out of the alliance as we don’t want to compromise our dignity. The CPI(M) likes to give orders. After agreeing to enter into a seat-sharing arrangement, they would start to dictate terms to us. They would ask us to field a particular candidate in a particular seat. In some constituencies, they wanted us to support their candidates secretly. It is unacceptable.
Wasn’t the ‘no-mutual-contest’ proposal put forth by the left front in six sitting seats logical?
Not exactly. Though it appeared that the CPI(M) was ready for ‘no mutual contest’ in those six seats, their real intention was to avoid direct fight in the two seats held by them. We were not ready to buy that proposal. If there is an adjustment, it should be applicable to all seats. The Congress is confident that we will be able to retain our four seats without their help. But it will be difficult for them to win their two sitting seats without Congress’s help.
Right from the beginning, the CPI(M) was only looking to reach an agreement on the six sitting seats. In fact, they were trying to fool us. And in the end they came up with a proposal offering us only 11 seats. Remember, the Left has a negligible presence in the northern parts of the state. They are now coming up with electoral arithmetic to validate their point. Of course, we agree that our party’s organisational presence is weak. But we have four members in the House whereas they only have two. We lost one of those two seats by a margin of 1,600 votes in the 2014 election.
How do you react to the allegation that both the Congress and the CPI(M) are in a way helping the BJP?
The CPI(M) is putting the BJP at an advantage with its stubbornness. Is resisting the BJP only our duty? Don’t the left parties have any responsibility?
The Left has been alleging that you sabotaged the possible alliance by taking bribes from rivals…
If Narendra Modi is the nation’s chowkidar (watchman), Biman Bose is the Left front’s chowkidar in West Bengal. Let him find out who took bribe from whom. Anyone can raise such allegations.
Isn’t a poll pact possible for both parties now?
If there is no pact with the Congress, the CPI(M) will be facing liquidation after the elections. The Congress has no such issues. Why do they try to enter into an alliance with us if they believe that they are not going to get Congress’s votes? We are confident of taking on the BJP without or without Left’s support. They are in a secret pact with the BJP. The Congress has never ever done that. The CPI(M) cannot deny its role in strengthening the BJP’s base in West Bengal.
After proposing a no-contest policy in six seats, the CPI(M) unilaterally announced its candidates for 25 seats. Is that the reason for the collapse of the seat-sharing arrangement?
In Birbhum, our sitting seat, they announced their candidate without consulting us. They wanted to do the same in Darjeeling, another seat which Congress always contests. The CPI(M) was playing the role of big brother to the hilt. Rahul Gandhi agreed for a pre-poll understanding with the Left only because he cares for Bengal. He held talks with CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury to reach a consensus on the matter. But the real intent of the CPI(M) was to trick us into a mendacious seat-sharing arrangement. So from our end there is no scope of rethinking.
