Kolkata, Mar 9 : Major Left Front constituents - RSP and Forward Bloc - have expressed concern over infighting in their parties following selection of candidates in the poll-bound West Bengal. "It is very unfortunate that some of us are afflicted by the vestiges of Congress culture. However, we are determined to nip in the bud such indiscipline, which cannot be tolerated in Left parties," senior RSP leader Manoj Bhattacherjee told PTI.
His comment followed ransacking of a party office at Alipurduar by a section of party supporters after a senior leader and PWD minister Kshiti Goswami was selected to contest from the constituency in north Bengal place of sitting party MLA Nirmal Das. In the 2006 Assembly polls, the RSP warhorse was fielded from Dhakuria, which this time stood abolished because of delimitation, prompting his party to shift him to a 'safe' seat Alipurduar.
Party supporters indulged in a similar act in Nadia district yesterday. The supporters, reportedly close to a local leader, allegedly vandalised a branch committee of the party near Palashi police outpost, opposing the renomination of sitting party MLA Dhananjoy Modak. Similar discontent surfaced in the Forward Block, which
finalised the list of candidates for 34 seats, dropping nine legislators.
Of these nine candidates, the state co-operation minister was dropped due to ill-health and Deputy Speaker in the state Assembly Bhaktipada Ghosh was not nominated as his in Birbhum district had been converted into a reserved seat. The CPI(M) also reportedly faced similar problems in the selection of candidates for the North 24-Parganas district where there are a total of 33 seats.
Forward Bloc general secretary Ashok Ghosh told PTI, "It reflects the vice of hanging onto power for far too long in the parliamentary system of democracy." "A candidate, who was renominated thrice, still expects that he would be nominated again. This is the reason why Lenin had called parliament a pig sty," Ghosh, a senior Left Front leader, said. Ghosh said the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Front would release its list of candidates to contest 294 Assembly seats on March 13. Sources in RSP and Forward Bloc said as in 2006, the two parties would contest 34 and 23 seats respectively.
However, another major partner CPI, which contested in 13 seats then, will contest a seat more this time. CPI(M), which leads the ten-party coalition in the state, had contested from 210 seats last time, leaving the rest of the seats to junior allies like RCPI, BBC, Forward Bloc (Marxist), West Bengal Socialist Party, besides two other non-Left Front allies RJD and NCP. PTI
