Congress, Left have no relevance in Bengal, says BJP leader Babul Supriyo

By Joymala Bagchi
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 17 : As Congress-Left alliance gears up to fight the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo on Wednesday said these political parties have no relevance in the state.
"It's a democratic country and they are most welcome to do it but these are alliances of opportunism and we also know what the result would be. Congress doesn't even have leadership. They have a leader whose lines very soon become memes or jokes. Left are left out. Congress and Left have no relevance in Bengal," Babul Supriyo told ANI.
In another crucial development, after bagging five seats in Bihar, Asaduddin Owaisi's All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) stretched its wings in Bengal with his announcement to contest the upcoming Assembly polls from West Bengal.
"All of them are welcome to fight the election. I also don't know why Asaduddin Owaisi (President, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) wanting to expand his party in Bengal is being seen with some kind of cynicism. I do not know why it is being seen with suspicion. He did great in Bihar and he has every right to come and fight here in Bengal," said Babul Supriyo.
During his first visit to Bengal after the announcement to contest the West Bengal Assembly polls, Owaisi held a discussion at Futura Sharif in Bengal's Hooghly district with Indian Secular Front's Abbas Siddiqui.
However, the Congress-Left alliance said the Indian Secular Force (ISF), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will be part of the Congress-Left alliance for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.
On Tuesday Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, President, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) said, "We do not want to speak on the seat-sharing because while our discussions were on, a few political developments took place here in Bengal. Indian secular front (ISF), RJD, NCP and other such political parties have expressed their faith that there is a need for them to get incorporated into Left-Congress alliance."
With final seat-sharing yet to be announced the alliance in a press conference appraised, "There was an atmosphere that suggested that the election is a fight between BJP and TMC (Trinamool Congress). However, now the wind has changed its direction. People will say that the election will be between BJP, TMC and Congress-Left."
Full-fledged campaigning has started in West Bengal for Assembly elections that has as many as 294 seats.