Kolkata, Mar 21: A tough fight is expected between the ruling left coalition and the Trinamool-BJP combine in 12 districts of south Bengal, including the capital city, while the left alliance will have to fight it out with the Congress in seven districts of north Bengal, including Murshidabad.
The biggest coalition in the state, the ruling left front, a combination of ten parties, is contesting all the 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state. Though the front is coalition of ten parties, four major parties, the CPI(M), the CPI, the Forward Bloc and the RSP have shared all the 42 seats among themselves. Of the 42 seat, the CPI(M) candidates will vie for 32, the RSP 4 and the Forward Bloc and the CPI three each. Of the biggest opposition alliance in the state, the Trinamool Congress will contest 30 seats, while its partner, the BJP 12. The Congress has also decided to share seats with PDS, a breakaway group of the CPI(M), the Nationalist Congress Party and the Jharkhand Party. While the Congress had already announced that it would leave one seat each for the PDS, the NCP and the Jharkhand Party, NCP spokesman Tariq Anwar said his party would contest three seats from West Bengal.
Bureau Report