Sonia has no idea of any Congress-Left alliance: Trinamool MP

Kolkata, Feb 28  Ridiculing the proposed CPI-M-Congress alliance for the West Bengal assembly polls, Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay on Sunday claimed that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has no inkling about any such arrangement. The Congress termed his statement "laughale".

"I had a talk with (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi where I asked her about the progress on the alliance front. Instead she asked me whether any such alliance was happening. In fact, she told me that no intimation has reached her about any such alliance," he told media persons here.

"It is evident no such alliance will happen. There is just some campaigning going around regarding seat adjustment," added Bandyopadhyay.

Both Congress and CPI-M frontline leaders from the state have openly advocated for an adjustment.

While state Congress secretary O.P. Mishra had twice written to Gandhi arguing that an alliance with the CPI-M led Left Front will emerge victorious in the assembly polls, a state Congress delegation led by Bengal party chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury met party vice president Rahul Gandhi earlier in the month to discuss the issue.

Ridiculing Bandyopadhyay's claims, Mishra asserted the Congress' commitment towards forging such an alliance.

"I don't think anything needs to be said on Bandyopadhyay's claims. It is laughable. We are committed towards our commitment to forge an alliance with the Left front," said Mishra.

While both the parties are yet to get into a formal electoral understanding, the bonhomie between the leaders from both the camps was evident at a charity cricket match here.

The exhibition match in which Indian pacer Ashok Dinda and actress Rituparna Sengupta also participated had Congress' Mishra, and Riju Ghosal turning out for the team which had CPI-M leaders Debesh Das and Fuad Halim.