Alliance between CPI-M, Congress on fast track: Mannan

The process to forge an alliance between the Congress and the CPI-M in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly polls is on "fast track", senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan today said.
Asked about the high command's decision on the alliance, Mannan said, "The alliance process is on fast track and you will come to know about it very soon. Yesterday's statement by state Congress president itself is a favourable sign towards alliance."
Raising the pitch for alliance talks in the run up to the state Assembly polls, WB Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury issued a statement yesterday asking all the democratic and secular forces to join hands.

Mannan said that TMC's response to the proposed alliance was a sign of "nervousness".
"The TMC is nervous about the prospect of the alliance. And their nervousness is clear whenever they make statements on the alliance or ridicule it. They know the power of alliance very well as they too have come to power by riding on alliance," Mannan remarked.
While commenting about Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay's claims that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has so far no news about a possible alliance between her party and the CPI(M), Mannan said, "I don't want to comment on such a baseless statement. I just want to say that Sonia Gandhi is a great leader and she doesn't speak to Tom, Dick and Harry,".

The Trinamool Congress MP yesterday claimed that he had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Parliament and she told him that so far there was no news about a possible alliance between her party and the CPI(M)-led Left Front in West Bengal ahead of the polls.