Congress refuses Left Front's seat offer in Bengal

In a last ditch attempt to forge a seat adjustment formula with the Congress in West Bengal in the 2019 polls, the Left Front on Tuesday announced the second list of its Lok Sabha candidates, leaving four seats won by the Congress in the last General Elections.

The state Congress leadership, however, rejected the offer claiming their party cannot be at the "mercy of anyone" and stated that it would fight in all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal on its own.

The Left Front, which had announced the names of 25 candidates in its first list on March 15, named its candidates for 13 more constituencies in the state, including Darjeeling in the north Bengal hills, Asansol industrial belt and city-based seats like Kolkata South, Kollata North and Howrah on Tuesday, taking the tally to 38.

The Left candidates' list consists of six women and five doctors. The Left Front major CPI-M has 29 candidates, while three of its allies--All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Communist Party of India (CPI) have three candidates each. However, four Lok Sabha seats--Malda North, Malda South, Jangipur and Baharampur, all of which were won by the Congress five years ago, have been left vacant by the party. State Left Front Chairman Biman Bose said: "There is still time till 4.30 pm tomorrow. If there is no response from them by then, we have to think further.”