Kolkata: West Bengal Congress president
Pranab Mukherjee on Monday gave a go-ahead for ground level work
for a Congress-Trinamool Congress tie-up ahead of May-June
elections to 82 municipalities and a civic body, an exercise
seen by many as a 'semi-final' before next year's Assembly
Elections.
Mukherjee, also Union Finance Minister, who held a
nearly three-hour meeting with the state Congress
office-bearers during the day, told reporters that many
members attending the discussion favoured seat-sharing with
Trinamool Congress in municipal polls but left it to district
units to decide on selection of candidates.
''Many of those who attended the meeting have expressed
the opinion that tie-up for the coming elections to 82
municipalities should be worked out by decentralising the
process and leaving it to the district leaderships of the
party.
"They have requested that PCC leaders should think about
the alliance for the coming polls keeping in mind the ground-
level situation obtaining in different municipalities",
Mukherjee said.
He said generally in local body elections, the decision
on selection of candidates depended on district committees
which is finally approved by PCC.
The state Congress working president, Pradip
Bhattacherjee, said, "Today's meeting was to assess our
party's strength in different municipalities and on the basis
of that the final decision regarding seat-sharing with
Trinamool Congress would be arrived at.''
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 08, 2010, 21:59