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RS poll: Left Front yet to field nominee

Marcus Dam

KOLKATA: The Left Front failed to arrive at a consensus on Thursday over the nomination of a candidate for one of the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal that are to fall vacant and for which elections are to be held later this month.

The Left Front will contest four seats and propose a “consensus candidate” for the fifth, said Biman Bose, chairman of the Left Front Committee, here following a meeting between the Left partners.

“The Left Front has always fought the Rajya Sabha elections on the “basis of consensus” and this time will be no different,” Mr. Bose said, though the candidate for one of the four seats it would be contesting was yet to be finalised. The Left Front partners will meet again on March 13 to decide on the candidate.

Two constituents — the All-India Forward Bloc and the Communist Party of India — have been insisting on nomination of their representatives for the seat.

Leaders of the two parties have, over the past few days, met the leadership of the CPI(M) and staked their claims. It has already been decided that the CPI(M), being the largest constituent of the Left Front, will put up its nominees in three seats — all of which they hold.

“I have been empowered to negotiate [with the parties concerned] and decide on a candidate [for the fifth seat] who “will definitely be an Independent and touch the conscience of other party MLAs,” Mr. Bose said.

This seat is held by the Trinamool Congress and the party has decided to put up its nominee. The Congress had earlier indicated that it could reach an understanding with the Trinamool Congress for the seat.

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