Kolkata, March 1 (IANS) The West Bengal based Trinamool Congress and the Congress party Sunday night announced that they have formed an alliance to jointly fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the communist ruled state.
The decision to form the alliance was reached after a 70-minute meeting between West Bengal Congress president Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee.

Senior Congress leader K. Keshava Rao was also present at the meeting held at a guesthouse in the southern part of the city.

Earlier in the day, state Congress leadership deliberated on the contours of an alliance with the Trinamool that could pose a challenge to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) led Left Front, which has suffered a constant erosion of votes for about a year.

The state Congress has already decided not to field any candidate against Banerjee in her Kolkata South Lok Sabha seat.