Kolkata: With the Trinamool Congress deciding not to support Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan on Monday filed his papers giving rise to another bone of contention between the two allies.
Trinamool Congress has renominated union minister Mukul Roy and given tickets to three journalists.
Mannan, a former MLA from Champdani in Hooghly district, filed his nomination papers in the presence of AICC observer RC Khuntia, WBPCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya, CLP leader in Assembly Md Sohrab, West Bengal ministers Manas Bhuniya, Abu Hena and Sabina Yasmin, besides a number of party leaders.
On whether the Congress with 42 MLAs in the 294-member House would have enough numbers to see its candidate through, Khuntia said, "West Bengal has 26 per cent minority votes.
"Abdul Mannan has been nominated to give them representation. Those who are secular-minded and those who want him to go to the Rajya Sabha will surely vote for him. In the Rajya Sabha elections, there are second and third preference votes," he said.
Ruling out the possibility of Mannan withdrawing his nomination, Khuntia said his party would neither indulge in horse trading nor take support from the Left Front.
Asked how then the Congress hoped to see its candidate win, Kuntia said, "every election has a strategy. We are also following a strategy for this election. But we are not going to discuss our strategy with the press".
Meanwhile, the number of Trinamool Congress MLAs came down to 183 with the death of senior party MLA Ajit Bhuniya during the day, while another party MLA Kashinath Mishra has sought leave of absence.
The three members of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and the independent candidate supported by it have boycotted the Rajya Sabha elections.
The Opposition Left Front has renominated CITU general secretary as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha.
Comments
0 comment