All Left Front partners have to make sacrifices: Biman Bose

Kolkata, Feb 20 (IANS) Amid reports of discontent among some Left Front partners apprehensive of getting a lower share of seats following a probable Left-Congress tie-up in the coming West Bengal assembly polls, Left Front chairman Biman Bose on Saturday said all allies have to be prepared for sacrifices.

"All Left Front partners need to make sacrifices, and yes, the CPI -M (Communist Party of India -Marxist which spearheads the LF) has to make the biggest sacrifices," Bose said.

With the CPI-M and other LF constituents beginning the process to identify seats which each constituent would contest in the coming polls, there have been reports of some partners unwilling to let go a portion of their share of seats to the Congress in case the LF-Congress tie up becomes a reality.

In a meeting on February 11, all LF constituents had given the stamp of approval on holding alliance talks with the Congress, but put the ball on the Congress court, saying it has to approach the combine first with the proposal.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed the possible alliance at a party meeting and exuded confidence of returning to power.

"She told the meeting that she is not at all bothered about the tie up. She said Trinamool would emerge victorious irrespective of whether the LF and the Congress comes together or not. She also said the party would win on the weight of the tremendous development work that the state has seen over the past five years," said a Trinamool leader present at a meeting of the elected representatives and organisational functionaries of the party's Kolkata district body.

Virtually clearing the decks for its first-ever tactical electoral tie up with the Congress in West Bengal, the CPI-M on Thursday sought the cooperation of all democratic forces to defeat the ruling Trinamool in the coming state assembly polls.

While CPI-M secretary Sitaram Yechury refused to be very specific keeping in mind the concerns of the Kerala party unit, which would have to take on the ruling Congress as its arch-rival in the assembly polls scheduled to be held around the same time as in West Bengal, another CPI-M central committee member Gautam Deb emphatically said his party was eyeing a tie up with the Congress.

Soon after, the state Congress leaders welcomed the CPI-M's stand and said "the grassroot workers of the two parties have already formed an alliance on the ground".

With the polls months away, the state leaderships of both the CPI-M and the Congress have been pitching for a joint fight against the Trinamool.

On February 1, a majority of state Congress leaders conveyed to the party vice president Rahul Gandhi their desire to team up with the CPI-M.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will take the final decision on on the possible tie-up.

A number of state Congress leaders have already flown to Delhi to impress upon the high command the need to formalise the pact without delay.