Mamata goes ahead with list

The Trinamool Congress and the Congress failed to clinch a pre-poll tie-up on Friday and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee declared her list of 228 candidates for the West Bengal polls, leaving 64 seats for the Congress.

Announcing her candidates’ list, Banerjee said, “I waited 18 days (after the dates for the six-phase polls starting April 18 were announced) for the alliance that could not be formed even after initial talks.”

However, Banerjee hinted that alliance talks between the parties would continue.

But, the Trinamool seems unlikely to yield more ground to the Congress. A Trinamool source said if the Congress failed to clinch a deal by Monday, Trinamool would announce its candidates for the remaining 64 seats too.

Most of the seats the Trinamool has left for the Congress are in North Bengal districts, where the Congress is traditionally strong.

Among Trinamool’s list of candidates are a host of retired IPS officers, theatre artists and cine artists. Banerjee said, “We will win with a two-thirds majority.”