ELECTION

Cong asks Trinamul to severe ties with BJP in rural boards

COOCH BEHAR, March 19: The Congress asked the Trinamul Congress to severe its ties with the BJP in the panchayat boards. The Congress is not ready to accept the relation in a good mood. In presence of Trinamul-BJP alliance at a number of Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat boards it may pose an uneasy situation for the Congress to conduct joint campaign in favour of the Congress-Trinamul candidate in the Lok Sabha election.

The leaders of the Congress and the Trinamul Congress met at the Congress office yesterday to chalk out joint campaign strategy for the election. During the discussion, the Congress leaders asked the Trinamul Congress to cut off their relation with the BJP in the Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat boards.

The Trinamul Congress and the BJP entered into alliances at a number of areas in Tufanganj-I, Tufanganj-II, Cooch Behar-I, Cooch Behar-II, Mathabhanga-I and Mathabhanga-II blocks. They formed boards in two Panchayat Samitis at Tufanganj-I and Tufanganj-II and 11 Gram Panchayats in six blocks.

District Congress president Mr Biren Kundu said the existing Trinamul-BJP alliance in rural bodies should not exert any shadow on the Congress-Trinamul alliance in the Lok Sabha. To convince the lower level activists and supporters of the two parties the Trinamul-BJP alliance should be winded up. It may better the new relation between the two parties, Mr Kundu opined.

Assuring the Congress leaders the district Trinamul Congress president Mr Rabi Ghosh said they would take the right decision at the right moment. At the same time he requested the Congress leaders to participate in joint programmes.

On the otherhand, district BJP president Mr Nityananda Munsi said the people of this district supported the Trinamul-BJP tie in the three-tier panchayat election. The boards came up to honour their opinion. Now, if the Trinamul Congress rolls back from the tie it is upto them. "They should decide whether they will continue the relation in the joint boards or not. We will not say anything about their intention", Mr Munsi said.