Left-Cong in bitter spat over failure of seat-sharing

The ongoing spat between the CPM-led Left Front and the Congress over the collapse of a seat-sharing discussion in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections took a bitter turn on Saturday.

Left Front chairperson Biman Basu claimed that “money bags” have played a key role in the collapse of the talks.

He also said that if too much money is pumped into politics then discussions and mutual understanding loose value.

“We wanted to maximise the anti-Trinamool Congress (TMC) and anti-BJP votes in Bengal. But some are saying that money bags are roaming around. If one has too many money bags with him then discussions and mutual understandings are of little importance,” Basu told reporters on the sidelines of a party programme.

Asked whether money was a factor in the collapse of the seat-sharing discussions between the Left Front and the Congress, Basu said “definitely.”

“If money becomes a deciding factor then unthinkable things happen in politics. Crony capitalists have poured in money to disrupt the seat-sharing talks,” he said.

Irked with Basu’s allegation, state Congress president Somen Mitra blamed the Left Front for the collapse of the proposed alliance.

"If there was any such thing (involvement of money bags) let them (the Left Front) find out who is behind it. Let the Left Front answer why the seat-sharing discussions did not succeed. The Left Front cannot decide the candidates for our seats,” Mitra said.

“Biman Basu says whatever comes to his mind. These are baseless allegations. The Left Front is responsible for the collapse of the seat-sharing talks,” he said.

CPM sources told DH that despite all this, the Left Front is not too keen on indulging in a blame game against the Congress.

“Our main targets are the BJP and the TMC. We don’t want to attack the Congress in our campaign,” a CPM state committee member said.

He also said that targeting Congress during the campaign may adversely affect the CPM’s aim to maximize the anti-TMC and anti-BJP votes.