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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Congress to finalise candidates for Assembly poll









KOLKATA: Senior Congress leaders held a meeting in New Delhi to prepare a list of the candidates for the assembly election.
Trinmool Congress already announced 228 candidates name (see-http://www.aitmc.org/cand_list.pdf)
and offered 64 seats to Congress.
This however created resentment among the Congress workers and leaders in West Bengal.
Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee had said, that they will be happy if Congress fields its candidates in 64 constituencies after seat adjustment. “Else, we will announce our candidates in those seats by Monday, she said.”
The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Manas Bhuniya arrived New Delhi last night, has already finalised the candidates for the 90 assembly seats and central leadership of the Congress has to approve it.
A meeting of the Congress’s screening committee for West Bengal chaired by Janardhan Poojari discussed the list of the candidates. Other screening committee members like leaders like P J Kurian and Working Committee Member in-charge for West Bengal Shakeel Ahmad joined the meeting.
Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee had held discussion with them over the issue last night.
Adhir Ranjan Chaudhury, MP, had yesterday said that the Trinamool’s one-sided declaration to the seats was an insult to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. He had also alleged that the Mamata Banerjee’s party wanted to abolish Congress in West Bengal.
MP Deepa Dasmunshi also expressed her resentment over the Trinmool Congress list.
It has been learnt that Sonia Gandhi has been strongly supporting the continuation of the alliance. Sonia Gandhi, who is in London, is expected to be back here today.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

LF drops 9 ministers and some MLA for Assembly poll




Left Front today published the list of 292 candidates for upcoming West Bengal Assembly poll. LF dropped nine ministers and some sitting MLA fearing anti incumbency.
LF chairman Biman Bose announced the list in a press conference at CPI-M headquarter on Alimuddin Street.
CPI-M will field 210 Forward Bloc 34, RSP 23, CPI 12, WBSP 5, RCPI, MFB and DSP 2 each and RJD and Biplobi Bangla Congress one. The state has 294-member Assembly.
The nominees for Serampore in Hooghly, Kalimpong will be announced later.
Assembly Speaker H A Halim and deputy speaker Bhaktipada Ghosh as well as LF chief whip Syed Masiha have will not contest on health ground.
Manab Mukherjee, Partha Dey, Nandogopal Bhattacharjee, Bankim Ghosh, Rabin Ghosh, Benoy Krishan Biswas, Rabindranth Hembram, Yogesh Chandra Barman and Tapan Roy have been denied ticket.
Bose said some of them will not contest as they wanted to work for the party.
Chief minsiter Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has been renominated from Jadavpur.
Existing ministers are contesting in this election-Nirupam Sen (Burdwan-South), Surya Kanta Mishra (Narayangar), Ashok Bhattacharya (Siliguri), Kanti Ganguly (Raidighi), Abdul Rezzak Mollah (Canning-East) and Debesh Das (Entally).
Goutam Deb will contest from Dum Dum.
Fuad Halim, son of Speaker H A Halim, will contest from Ballygunge.
Bose said the list also included 46 women candidates, 14 more than in 2006. Besides, 56 Muslims are in the list.Polling in the six-phase elections will be held April 18, 23, 27, May 3, 7 and 10. Counting will take place on May 13.