Top Congress leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi, are likely to hit the campaign trail ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections to be held in six phases in April and May.
“We have sent a list of 40 star campaigners whom we want to campaign for the Congress candidates in Bengal. Our campaign committee will take a final call, but we are optimistic that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh will surely address election rallies in the state,” state Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said on Saturday.
Mr Gandhi is expected to campaign in Purulia for the first phase of elections on April 4. Ms Gandhi may campaign before the third phase of elections on April 21 when polling will be held in Kolkata. JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav has agreed to come to the state to campaign for his party candidates in Howrah and Islampur. The JD(U), RJD and NCP are junior partners in the secular democratic coalition which the Left Front and Congress has formed for Assembly polls in Bengal. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is also likely to campaign in the state.
Mr Chowdhury said the Congress would announce the names of candidates in nine seats, including Chowringhee, Kolkata Port Purbasthali Dakshin, Noapara, Madhyamgram, Howrah Uttar, Manikchak, Sreerampur and Bharatpur on Tuesday. The Congress has so far fielded candidates in 85 seats in Bengal. The party has decided to contest 94 seats, which means that there will be friendly fight between the Congress and Left Front in not less than 10 seats.
Reacting to chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s tirade against the Election Commission on Friday, Mr Chowdhury said, “We feel ashamed at the manner in which she has attacked the EC. The Election Commission is a constitutional body.” Ms Banerjee had on Friday taunted the EC asking it to bring forces from the USA to supervise elections in Delhi.
Taking potshots at Ms Banerjee for seeking votes by telling people that she was Trinamul Congress candidates in all 294 Assembly constituencies in Bengal, the state Congress president said it showed that she had no faith in her candidates. “This is not a presidential election. This kind of voting takes place in the US,” he added.
