Siliguri, 30th December: The evident tension in the Left-Congress alliance just ahead of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation election is brewing up speculation in the political arena. This raises the question, will the Left and the Congress contest the municipality poll separately?
The Left Front announced its candidates in 42 wards of the SMC, while on Thursday, Congress announced candidates in 15 wards. The speculation intensified as soon as the list of Congress candidates was released. In the list, Congress has fielded its candidate in many wards where the Left has already fielded, i.e. Ward No. 03, 05, 12, 14, 15, 22, 26, 33, 39, 40, 41, 42.
In this regard, Darjeeling District Congress President Shankar Malakar said that discussions are being held regarding the alliance.
On the other hand, senior CPI(M) leader Ashok Bhattacharya said that as of now two meetings have been held regarding the alliance. “The discussion has not yet been fruitful. But we’ll have a meeting again,” he added.