Statesman News Service
MALDA, April 15: The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have struck an alliance in certain areas of Malda district for the forthcoming rural polls. The two parties have decided to sacrifice seats for each other on the basis of their organisational strength.The Malda Congress MP, Mr A H Khan Choudhury today said: “The Congress will not contest where the BJP is strong and similarly the BJP would not field candidates where the Congress enjoys the potential to win.”“We will adjust seats in the Barind Belt like Habibpur, Old Malda, Gazole and Bamongola areas. The seat adjustment will be limited to the panchayat polls. It would not apply in the general elections,” he added. Claiming that the BJP enjoyed numerical strength in the Barind belt, BJP leader Mr Amlan Bhaduri, said: “The BJP has a strong base in the Barind Belt. We will field candidates where the BJP is strong and would support the Congress candidates where the BJP is comparatively weak to defeat the CPI-M.”According to Mr Bhaduri, the BJP also wants to adjust seats with the Trinamul Congress in particular areas where the BJP and Trinamul Congress alliance had contested in the last panchayat polls. It may be noted that the Malda zilla parishad was formed by the Congress with the support of the BJP and Trinamul Congress elected members in the last panchayat polls. The Congress also runs the English Bazaar Municipality with the support of Trinamul and BJP. Political observers here say that the Congress has sought the BJP’s help at the lower level just to confirm a few zilla parishad seats.“The Left Front will return a better result if the alliance between the Congress, BJP and Trinamul is exposed officially,” Mr Jiban Moitra, convener of the Malda Left Front and CPI-M district secretary said.
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