Kolkata: With the Congress and the Left Front still wrangling over seat sharing, a direct Trinamool-BJP contest is more likely in the state.
Amid the ongoing seat-sharing talks between the CPI(M) and the Congress, the Left Front on Friday announced candidates for Raiganj and Murshidabad Lok Sabha seats – the bone of contention with the Congress.
Mohammed Salim and Badaruddoza Khan would contest from Raiganj and Murshidabad Lok Sabha seats, respectively, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said, putting the Congress in a fix.
The ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP camps are more active politically than the CPM and the Congress.
Except occasional media meets and some tweets from the leaders of Congress and CPM there is not much activity in both camps.
The Trinamool and BJP are holding regular press briefings and are also active on social media platforms.
The Congress' adamant refusal to part with Raiganj and Murshidabad, won by the CPM in 2014 is hampering seat sharing, though the CPM has announced it would not put up candidates in four seats won by the Congress in 2014.
Both sides have lobbed the contentious matter to their respective central leadership.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi and CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury will have to sort out the issue to save the alliance.
Congress leaders admit that the formation of the alliance is crucial to ensure the Congress and the Left remain relevant.
“We badly need the alliance. Otherwise, it will be a direct fight between the BJP and the Trinamool,” a vice president of the state unit said on condition of anonymity.
"But if the seat-adjustment talks succeed, the BJP will be pushed on the back foot," he added.
But the BJP pooh-poohed such talks, saying they will gain in case of a triangular fight.
“It is surely a direct fight between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress. It is a fight of equals,” said BJP general secretary and Bengal observer Kailash Vijayvargiya.
“The CPM and the Congress are far, far behind. In fact, they are nowhere. It is for this reason that they are trying to work out an alliance. But even if there is a triangular fight, we will be the beneficiary,” he said.
BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha also claimed that even if there is an alliance between the Left Front and the Congress, it cannot make much of a difference.
“No matter how much they form an alliance, they cannot beat either TMC or the BJP. They are completely extinct in Bengal. Even the TMC this time cannot beat us,” he said.
Apparently, the BJP's calculation is based on hopes for a likely division in Muslim votes - which otherwise could mostly go the Trinamool way - that the LF-Congress alliance can bring about.
The party feels that in such a scenario, it could fare well in seats with a mixed population by projecting itself as the only party upholding the Hindu cause or by canvassing loudly on issues like infiltration and national security.
Amit Shah has set a target of winning more than 22 of the 42 seats up for grabs from the state.
The BJP had won two seats - Asansol and Darjeeling - in 2014.
“We will surely go beyond the number set by our national chief giving a major jolt to the ruling party in Bengal,” Vijayvargiya said.
On the ground, BJP campaign managers have identified 17-18 'winnable seats' where the party would focus during the campaign.
The party had finished second or third in these seats in 2014 and even improved its vote share in subsequent by-polls in some of them.
‘But these seats do not include Asansol and Darjeeling,’ said Sinha.
As part of the party's Look East policy for the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has been pulling out all stops to better its show in Bengal - an erstwhile red citadel where the CPM-led Left Front was in power for 34 years at a stretch (1977-2011).
The constituencies identified by the BJP are: Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Malda North, Malda South, Jhargram, West Midnapore, Bolpur, Birbhum, Purulia, Howrah, Hooghly, Diamond Harbour, Barrackpore, Dum Dum, Basirhat, Krishnanagar, Kolkata North and Kolkata South.
However, according to Left Front sources, a section of the CPM is not keen to align with the Congress because they feel that they can win more seats if they contest alone.
After a huge turnout at the Left’s Brigade rally on February 3, some young voters felt chances that the Left can emerge as a major power in 2021 assembly elections, if it reaches out more to the grassroots level.
Trinamool Congress is unperturbed by all these.
Party secretary general Partha Chatterjee said as long as the opposition votes get divided, the ruling party will not be challenged at all. “This will also hurt BJP despite their claim of winning 22-plus seats. The combination of Congress and Left Front votes will push BJP to the third position. A three-cornered contest will only ensure that our vote share remains intact and hence we will emerge victorious once again,” said Chatterjee.
