Bengal grand alliance hits choppy waters as Abbas, Adhir spar over seat sharing

Abbas Siddiqui also claimed that though Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wants the alliance, a party leader from Bengal is dilly-dallying the talks

The opposition grand alliance in West Bengal ran into choppy waters on a day it showed its strength at a mega rally in Kolkata with ISF leader Abbas Siddiqui cautioning the Congress over the ongoing seat-sharing talks, asking it to arrive at a decision soon.

Siddiqui, a Muslim cleric who launched the ISF last month, expressed gratitude to the Left for leaving his party 30 seats to contest as a part of the alliance, urging his supporters to fight until the last for ensuring the Left parties' victory in various parts of the state but stayed away from seeking votes for the Congress.

Read | Congress faces uphill task in poll-bound states

"I didn't speak about the Congress. I am here (in politics) to be a partner, not for any appeasement. I am here to get my rightful claims," Siddiqui said with state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury present on the dais.

Later, he also claimed that though Congress chief Sonia Gandhi wants the alliance, a party leader from Bengal is dilly-dallying the talks.

"We have heard from our sources that Sonia Gandhi wants this grand alliance. But a Congress leader from Bengal is creating problems. We will wait for a few more days and then take a call. We can't wait till eternity," he said on the sidelines of the rally.

Reacting to the comments, Chowdhury said the Congress wouldn't take decisions based on threats and intimidation by "some Siddiqui".

"We can't decide based on what some Siddiqui is saying. We are having a formal alliance with the Left. Let us first get a clear picture of the number of seats we are getting from the Left, then, we can share it with someone else. We deputed Abdul Mannan to talk to the ISF and look into their demands. Let's see," he told reporters at the state Congress office.

The discomfort on the dais at the rally was visible with Chowdhury and Siddiqui not speaking to each other.

Siddiqui got onto the stage when Chowdhury was addressing the rally. Seeing him on the dais, ISF supporters burst into cheer, disrupting the Congress leader's speech who then sought to cut it short. However, Chowdhury continued the address after Left leaders such as Biman Bose and Md Salim persuaded him.

"Nothing of that sort. I merely told them (Salim and Bose) if I would temporarily stop speaking and resume later on," the Chowdhury later clarified.

The CPI(M) said that it was working with the alliance partners to iron out the differences.

"Left would act as the cement of this alliance and the issues will be sorted out," Salim said.

According to sources, the ISF has demanded a few seats in once Congress bastion Malda and Chowdhury's stronghold Murshidabad that the Congress won in the 2016 assembly polls.

Siddiqui joining the Left-Congress alliance has given it an edge in the West Bengal polls, mostly seen as a bipolar contest between the Trinamool Congress and BJP.

Siddiqui, a pirzada at Furfura Sharif -- one of the holiest shrines among Bengali Muslims, created a flutter by meeting AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi ahead of the elections but ditched him for the Left-Congress.

West Bengal has a 30 per cent Muslim population a deciding factor in around 100-110 seats.

In case of a close contest, the Left-Congress-ISF alliance will become a deciding factor.

Elections for the West Bengal assembly will be held in eight phases, up from seven last time, beginning with polling for 30 seats on March 27.