Left Front-Congress-ISF agree on seat-sharing formula ahead of West Bengal elections

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 4 

The CPI(M)-led Left Front, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui in West Bengal have almost finalised the seat-sharing formula for the eight-phase election to the 294-seat Assembly in the state.

The three have formed an alliance in West Bengal to take on the ruling TMC and the resurgent BJP.

Sources in the Left said a formal announcement on sharing of the seats is expected by end of this week.

The nitty-gritty of the poll strategy, including sharing of seats, were broadly agreed upon during a meeting of leaders of Left Front, Congress and ISF in Kolkata on Tuesday.

The sources said that although some minor changes in the number of seats to be shared among the constituents cannot be ruled out, the leaders have broadly agreed on the formula.

As per the understanding, the ISF will contest on about 38 seats, although Siddiqui had pitched for 45 seats.

The Congress will be allotted about 92 seats.

Among the Left Front constituents, the CPI(M) will contest between 117-120 seats, the CPI about 11, the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) about 14 seats and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) about 11 seats.

There could be a slight change regarding seat allotment among the constituents in the Left Front.

Sources said that the alliance will also declare its policy statement which would be a kind of Common Minimum Programme (CMP).

In a related development, the Left Front is mindful of the possibility of Hyderabad-based Asaduddin Owasi’s All India Majlis Ittehad-e Muslimeen(AIMIM) entering the election fray and putting up candidates in Muslim-dominated assembly constituencies.

The Muslim section of the population is a factor in about 80-90 constituencies and had been instrumental in shoring up TMC’s fortunes.

In the 2016 Assembly election, the CPI(M) had contested 148 seats and won 26. The CPI contested 11 and won one. The AIFB contested 25 and won two. The RSP contested 19 and won three.

The Congress had contested at 92 seats and won 44.

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