Cong, Trinamool defer Lok Sabha poll list, speculation rife

KOLKATA: Two separate developments, the first in Kolkata and other in Delhi, may have a bearing on the Lok Sabha poll strategy of friends-turned-foes - Congress and Trinamool Congress.

Trinamool is likely to defer declaring its list of Lok Sabha candidates by nearly a month - till March - and Congress has also indicated it is in no hurry to do so.

Trinamool, according to sources, was likely to declare its list (or a part of it) at the January 30 meet at the Brigade Parade Grounds, or at least immediately after the February 7 elections to the five Rajya Sabha seats in Bengal. It now emerges that the party will do so only after Mamata Banerjee meets her parliamentarians, possibly on March 4.

The Congress, too, left a similar indication. Pradesh Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya met the party's candidate-screening committee chairperson Sushil Kumar Shinde in Delhi late on Sunday. Bhattacharya is carrying with him a list of the party's probable Lok Sabha candidates.

According to sources, though the Congress's central leadership is pushing for the early announcement of candidates' names, it is willing to make an exception in Bengal. The question is, why?

Trinamool is bleeding Congress, with at least six MLAs having defected. The gravevine also has it that a Congress MP may choose to go the same way. Bhattacharya, however, evaded a direct reply. He, instead, commented on the Trinamool's deferment of its candidates' list. "In the backdrop of their past statements, I felt they (Trinamool) should have declared it at their Brigade meeting . I believe the delay is because of in-house problems and that they perhaps intend to drop some sitting Lok Sabha members."

Trinamool national secretary Mukul Roy chose not to take any questions during a quick press conference at Trinamool Bhawan. "The party's position has been clearly articulated by the chief minister. We are neither with the Congress, nor the BJP. Trinamool will fight on its own strength and will emerge as a key decision-maker in Delhi," he said.

Trinamool, however, hasn't let this stop them from supporting some key bills in the last Lok Sabha session - the Lokpal and Lokayukta bills among them. Even in the forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament, Trinamool is not likely to oppose the vote-on-accounts, including the one on railways. It's likely not to put a spanner in either the Jhansi Agricultural University Bill or the Street Vendors Bill. In one bill relating to Besu's upgrade to central university status (that's coming up in Rajya Sabha), it is actively courting support from others.

The question is whether floor coordination is any indication of broader convergence. Trinamool Rajya Sabha chief whip Derek O'Brien refuted any such suggestion. "We are against the Congress posturing. We believe beyond these few bills, which have support of all parties. Any others should be deliberated by the new government," he said. He replied an emphatic "no" when asked about any possibility of a Congress-Trinamool pre-poll alliance. "The party chief has made it clear and we do not reply to speculations," he said.