Huge crowd at first joint rally of Left-Cong-ISF in Kolkata, no consensus yet over seat-sharing

By Joymala Bagchi
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], February 28 : The first joint rally of the Left-Congress-Indian Secular Front (ISF) at Brigade parade ground here on Sunday witnessed the attendance of lakhs of people. However, the stalemate between Congress and Furfura Sharif's ISF continued at the rally.
ISF chief Abbas Siddiqui applauded the Left Front for accepting his party's demand for crucial 30 seats including Nandigram. He also made it clear that the ISF will support the Left front.
Addressing the public at the rally, Siddiqui said, "The Left accepted our demand regarding seat-sharing and thus we should be together. Everybody is in trouble under Mamata Raj. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its proxy team Trinamool Congress (TMC) should understand the importance of common people. Bengal's people should remember that there is nothing to fear as administrative power is with Election Commission."
Indirectly referring to Congress, Siddiqui said, "Our door is open, if anybody wants to come, they can."
Siddiqui's remark comes in the backdrop of the disagreement over seat-sharing between Congress and ISF ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls.
Asked about the issue of ISF in the alliance, Congress West Bengal in-charge Jitin Prasada told ANI, "We are working on it."
"As you can see the response is tremendous and very soon our candidates will be on the ground. It is a twin challenge of BJP and TMC which will be crushed by the momentum," he said.
Top leaders from Congress and Left Parties have been present at the rally.
Left Front Chairman Biman Bose welcomed all leaders saying ISF, Congress, and the Left parties are together. "From today onwards, three parties will be together and would fight against BJP and TMC," he said.
Addressing the public, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "The election will not be a fight between TMC and BJP but between them and us (the joint alliance). We have to fight for secularism."
Hitting out at the Centre for the fuel price hike and unemployment, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury said, "A stadium has been built in his name and here the youth is suffering."
He further called for togetherness saying, "Together Bengal have to saved and India in later days."
D Raja, general secretary of the Communist Party of India said, "This rally is huge. This is a demonstration by the people of Bengal. This rally is to save the country and defeat BJP and TMC. People of Bengal always play a historic role in shaping the political scenario of India."
The elections for the 294 Assembly seats in West Bengal will begin on March 27. The state is going to witness eight-phase Assembly polls this year.
West Bengal is likely to witness a triangular contest this time with TMC, Congress-Left alliance, and BJP in the fray.