West Bengal Congress unit rules out any alliance in the state

NEW DELHI: At a time when the Congress is scouting for potential allies ahead of the upcoming general elections, its West Bengal unit has formally told the central panel in charge of alliances that the party should go it alone in the state.

Given the increasing souring of ties with the party’s former partner, the ruling Trinamool Congress, the state unit has communicated to the AK Antony-led panel the view that has often been expressed by leaders including Union minister Jairam Ramesh.

In most states, the Congress stares at a scenario of contesting the elections alone. This is a daunting prospect, especially in the eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha, where it holds just 16 of the total 128 Lok Sabha seats. The Congress has tied up with the JMM in Jharkhand while it is still testing waters in Bihar.

The party had forged a prepoll alliance with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress ahead of the 2009 general elections. But much to the chagrin of the local leadership, Trinamool Congress had refused to part with more than 14 of the 42 seats for the Congress. Worse, many of these 14 seats were Left bastions.