CPM , SP tussle over seat adjustment in polls

Statesman News Service

MALDA, April. 16: After RSP, the CPM is facing a problem over adjustment of seats with another Left Front ally ~ the Socialist Party ~ in Gazole Block area, a red bastion. The CPI-M district secretary Mr Jiban Moitra and another CPI-M leader and MLA Mr Khagen Murmu have failed to pacify the Socialist Party leaders over the adjustment of seats at the grampanchayat and panchayat samiti levels. “The Socialist Party has demanded abnormally huge number of seats in Gazole without valid reasons. We are trying hard to make a ‘total unity’ among LF partners but there are few areas where unity is not possible at the moment,” said a senior CPI-M district committee leader. It may be recalled that Mr Surajit Roy, a top CPM leader in Gazole, who has joined the Socialist Party, is adamant to bargain seats form the CPI-M and has decided to field candidates according to their choice in Gazole Block .“The district Socialist Party chief Mr Milan Das is being guided by Mr Surajit Roy here. This has created problem to adjust seats with the CPI-M in Gazole” said a senior member of the LF belonging to the RSP. Till this afternoon, the CPI-M and RSP have adjusted seats amicably in Kaliachak III and English Bazaar. The CPI-M has been able to overcome the problem of seat sharing in Manikchak Block. The dialogue continues between the CPI-M and RSP for Kalichak I and II and two other blocks in Ratua. The RSP leaders have been able to adjust seats partly in Habibpur, Gazole and Old Malda. Though RSP thought that the CPI-M would accept their proposals of seat sharing in Bamongola, the CPI-M leaders asked the RSP leaders to discuss more about some disputed seats in Bamongola block this afternoon. The CPI-M party sources said that the picture of seat adjustments among the LF partners will be clear after 17 April. The CPI-M leadership is still monitoring filing of nomination papers of its junior partners in respective blocks in the three tier-polls (gram Panchayat, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad) in order to take final decision about seat adjustment issue.