Cong,Trinamool set for standoff over KMC polls

There was a near collapse of the Congress-Trinamool alliance days before the parliamentary polls last year,when the Congress Central leadership had to step in to defuse the crisis.

On Monday,Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee,who is also the state Congress chief,will visit the state capital and chair a meeting of all party office-bearers. Congress sources said state leaders will press for 45- 50 seats for the KMC polls,most of them in north and central Kolkata. They also want a fair share in the south and claim the demand is based on the results of the KMC polls in 2005.

“We will demand these seats where we finished second,in addition to the seats we won,” said a secretary of the state Congress.

The Congress has identified at least 15 seats in Boroughs I and II in north Kolkata. In central Kolkata,the party is looking at nearly 10 seats to contest. This includes the area of former Congress MLA and now Trinamool MP,Somen Mitra.

The Congress is also looking at a number of seats in the Burrabazar area where it claims to have a good organisation. “Some seats in Behala and the added areas of the KMC are also on our radar,” said the Congress leader.

“We want a respectable alliance this time. We will discuss everything at Monday’s meeting,” said CLP leader Manas Bhuniya,refusing to divulge the details.

At present,the Left Front has 75 seats in the 141-member KMC board,while the Trinamool Congress-BJP combine holds 45. The Congress,in alliance with the then dissident Trinamool leader and former Kolkata Mayor Subrata Mukherjee,won 19 seats. However,there have been several defections from the Congress to the Trinamool over the last few years.

The Trinamool,on the other hand,is in no mood to yield an inch. “How can the Congress ask for so many seats? We cannot give them more than 30,” said a senior Trinamool councillor.

Party leaders said a large portion of central Kolkata,where Somen Mitra holds sway,now belongs to the Trinamool. “We have also increased our strength in almost all the wards,” said the Trinamool leader.

According to the party estimates,it had led in at least 120 wards of the 141 wards in the parliamentary elections last year. Six Congress councillors,including Sabita Das,Aparajita Ghosh and Iqbal Ahmed,have joined the Trinamool.

“So the count of 19 councillors automatically comes down to 13. How can they ask for so many seats?” said the Trinamool leader.

Trinamool sources said the party is willing to give those seats to Congress where it lost by a slender margin of around 100 to 200 votes. “But then,we will also have to consider whether they are in a position to win the seat,” the source said.

“We have not discussed this within the party yet. We are awaiting the publication of the notification for the changes in reservation of seats,” said Javed Khan,Leader of the Opposition in the KMC.