Mamata lists candidates, workers sulk

By Our Special correspondent

CALCUTTA, MARCH 7. The Trinamool Congress chief, Ms. Mamata Banerjee, today unveiled the list of candidates for the coming Assembly election in the State even as hundreds of disgruntled party workers continued with their protests, saying Ms. Banerjee had failed to display maturity and wisdom in her selection.

Releasing the list, Ms. Banerjee admitted that some Trinamool functionaries were upset over the list but they would most certainly get over it and work hard to help the nominees win. ``I cannot make everyone happy.''

Not to contest

Mr. Pankaj Banerjee, party chairperson, said Ms. Banerjee would not contest but would be projected as chief minister. ``She will work out campaign strategies for us, hold meetings and inspire the workers to put up a united fight against the leftists.''

Among those present at the news conference were the Calcutta Mayor, Mr. Subrata Mukherjee, and Mr. Sudip Bandopadhyay, MP.

Ms. Banerjee said the Trinamool will fight the election under the banner of Bangla Bachao Front (Save Bengal Front, BBF). The Front is made up of its ally, the BJP, the Jharkhand Party, the Kamtapur People's Party (KPP), Samata Party (SP) and Biplabi Bangla Congress (BBC).

The Trinamool would contest 228 seats, BJP 39, KPP six, JP eight and SP and BBC one each. The party would support Mr. Subash Ghising's Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) in the three seats in Darjeeling.

The Trinamool would not put up candidates in Sujapur and Kaliachawk in Malda as the Congress contestants there were related to the Congress MP, Mr. A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chaudhury. The other Congress contestants who will receive the Trinamool's support are Mr. Shankar Singh, Mr. Abdul Mannan, Mr. Ashok Deb, Mr. Gyan Singh Sohan Pal and Ms. Mayarani Pal. Candidates for the remaining seven seats would be announced later.

The Trinamool's list contains the names of actors, actresses, advocates, football players, retired bureaucrats and police officers. At least 24 women and 38 persons from minority communities are to be fielded.

Actress against CM

Ms. Madhabi Mukherjee, film actress, will be the Trinamool candidate in Jadavpur where the Chief Minister, Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is seeking re-election. The Mayor, Mr. Subrata Mukherjee, will contest from Chowringhee, while Ms. Nayana Das, actress-wife of MP, Mr. Sudip Bandopadhyay, is the nominee in Bowbazar, Central Calcutta.

The Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr. Ajit Panja, succeeded in getting his daughter, Ms. Mahua Mondal, nominated from Vidyasagar but failed to persuade Ms. Banerjee to give a ticket to his daughter-in-law, Ms. Shashi, from a city constituency. Popular Bengali film actor, Mr. Tapas Pal, will be the Trinamool candidate in Alipore.

All the seven Congress MLAs who recently joined the Trinamool will contest, but not from seats of their choice. Mr. Saugata Ray was not accommodated in Alipore but has been shifted to Dhakuria in South Calcutta.

Ms. Banerjee announced that a Forward Bloc nominee, Mr. Satyanarayan Bajaj, will now contest as a Trinamool candidate from Jorasanko in Central Kolkata.

Sensing discontentment in the Trinamool ranks, Ms. Banerjee allotted tickets to a few of her aides such as Mr. Sanjay Bakshi and Ms. Sonali Guha who have been with her since the inception of the party.

CPI(M)'s 'white paper'

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) released a booklet listing the terror and violence unleashed by the Congress since 1960 and the Trinamool since it was formed. Mr. Anil Biswas, party secretary, said left workers would launch a door-to-door campaign armed with the 75- page `white paper' on violence.

According to him, many dissident CPI(M) workers who had crossed over to Mr. Saifuddin Chowdhury's Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS) had petitioned the CPI(M) leadership to allow them to return to the party fold. ``In our party, one cannot go out and come back as one wishes. Besides, we will have to scrutinise each case and see if their intentions are honest or not.''

PTI reports:

Cong.'s new front

On its part, the Congress has decided to launch a secular, democratic front with the PDS. After his second round of talks last night with the expelled CPI(M) leader, Mr. Chowdhury, who recently launched the PDS, the WBPCC chief, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, told reporters that apart from the PDS, smaller parties such as the Republican Party might also participate in the front. With this, the State is set to witness a three- cornered contest between the Trinamool-led BBF, the ruling Left Front, and the Congress-led front.

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