Malda Congress faces a dilemma

Statesman News Service

MALDA, May 22: The Congress in Malda is faced with a dilemma. Though the party has come to power in Malda zilla parishad bagging the majority of seats on offer, it is short of a saha sabhadhipati candidate. The post is reserved for Scheduled Tribes and the Congress has no elected tribal candidate among its 18 elected ZP members.The Congress would either have to look towards the BJP or the CPI-M now as both organisations possess elected Scheduled Tribe candidates. The question that is dong the rounds here is, who would the PCC chief and Union information and broadcasting minister Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi now approach. While the BJP leadership said that it was prepared to offer its candidate Mr Mohan Tudu, who hasbeen elected to the ZP from Habibpur, as saha sabhadhipati to bail the Congress out of the embarrassing position of having to approach or support a CPI-M candidate, the CPI-M leadership believes the situation is a political test for Mr Das Munshi.Upset with the Malda zilla parishad and panchayat samity results in the district, the CPI-M leadership has decided to field Mrs Surajmoni Tudu, elected to the ZP on a CPI-M ticket from Gazole block, for the saha sabhadhipati's post. “With no candidate of its own, the Congress would either have to cast its vote in favour of the BJP candidate in the saha sabhadhipati election or approach the CPI-M if it wants to maintain a secular image,” said the district CPI-M secretary Mr Jiban Moitra. The CPI-M leadership including the chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhatta-charjee had earlier objected to Mr Das Munshi's style of campaign prior to the panchayat polls as he had asked the people to cast votes in favour of the BJP where Congress candidates were absent. It would be interesting to watch what the Congress does now. #