Thaindian News

Kolkata, March 11 (IANS) Dignity and trust are vital for forging alliance with the Trinamool Congress, West Bengal’s Congress president Manas Bhuniya said Friday even as seat sharing talks between the two parties for the assembly polls continued.

He said the party’s state leaders have communicated their views to the high command and would abide by its decision.

However, Bhuniya said there was “no hurdle or obstruction” in forming the alliance as the people of the state wanted the two parties to come together.

“It is the aspiration and the desire of the people of West Bengal, who have been tortured by the ruling leftists, that the alliance be formed,” he told reporters.

“We are very hopeful about forging the alliance,” he said.

During negotiations, the Congress has demanded 98 of the 294 assembly seats, but the Trinamool is reluctant to concede more than 60-62 constituencies.

Bhuniya said union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who was slated to arrive in the city Saturday for seat sharing talks with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, would stay back in Delhi due to pressing government works.

Asked about his repeated reference to being treated with “dignity” by the Trinamool, the Congress leader said: “In any relationship, if there is no dignity, trust, honour, love and commitment then no relation can exist.”

“Now it is for the high command to take the final decision (on seats) and give us the directive. As a state unit it is our responsibility to implement the directives of the national leadership. We will abide by the high command’s decision,” he said.

Asked about the Congress bargaining for more seats from the Trinamool, Bhuniya shot back: “Who says we are bargaining? It is not a grocery shop. We are only communicating our views and this is not bargaining.”

However, he expressed the hope that the two parties - now busy negotiating a seat sharing deal - would be able to clinch the alliance soon.

The Trinamool and the Congress, along with the smaller Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C), joined hands before the 2009 Lok Sabha election and bagged 26 of the state’s 42 parliamentary seats, dealing a major blow to the Left Front that has ruled the state since June 1977.

However, last year the Trinamool-Congress failed to come to a seat adjustment for the civic elections.

West Bengal will have six-phase staggered polls beginning April 18 and ending May 10.