Mamata calls up Pranab over rebel Cong candidates

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday called up senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee to express "displeasure" over the entry of the rebels as independents against the TMC nominees in the West Bengal polls.

"Mamata has telephoned Pranabda to take up the matter," senior TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyya told PTI.

He said the understanding between the Congress high command and the TMC was "perfectly all right. The problem is at the local level." In an editorial in the latest issue of the TMC weekly publication 'Ma, Mati, Manush', the party said there should be no division of the anti-CPM votes by fielding independent candidates.

Mamata took up the matter with Mukherjee, also Union Finance Minister, a day after the Congress heavyweight in Murshidabad and the party MP Adhir Chowdhury began campaigning for independent candidates. Chowdhury has backed rebel Congress candidates from all the four constituencies being fought by TMC in the district. He ignored Mukherjee's recent warning that party dissident leaders contesting against official Congress nominees and the TMC would be expelled.

Chowdhury, party Lok Sabha member from Berhampore, openly campaigned on Thursday for local Congress leaders S K Alamgir, who is contesting from Bhagabangola and Aminul Islam from Sagardighi as independents against TMC nominees. In North Dinajpur district where Congress MP Deepa Dasmunshi is unhappy like Chowdhury over the seat-sharing deal with Trinamool, two rebel Congress leaders -- Chittaranjan Roy and Hamidur Rahman -- filed nominations as independents against the Trinamool Congress nominees.

While Roy filed nomination at Hemtabad which falls under the Raiganj Lok Sabha seat held by Deepa Dasmunshi, Rahman filed nomination at Chopra constituency. Deepa, wife of ailing Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, alleged the TMC was not campaigning for Congress candidates in five constituency’s alloted to the party.

Some Congress leaders were also unwilling to accept their fate lying down. Some, including six-time MLA Ram Pyare Ram, have announced that they would contest on their own.