Bjp To Support Tmc In West Bengal

BJP president L K Advani yesterday said he had asked his party cadre to support Trinamul Congress (TMC) to help it defeat the Congress and Left parties in West Bengal.

Advani, who was in Calcutta after campaigning in north Bengal, said the BJP had not fielded candidates against TMC nominees in the state.

He said he had held talks with TMC chairman Pankaj Banerjee over the issue of Midnapore seat, where both the parties had put up their candidates. He added that it would be sorted out soon.

Asked whether BJP would be campaigning jointly in the state with the Trinamul Congress, the BJP president said they had a seat sharing agreement with TMC which would give a fitting reply to the Marxist misrule in the state in the elections. BJP would not exert any pressure on TMC for a joint campaign.

 

Advani said West Bengal was an island where the communist party had considerable influence. Communist ideology had been rejected world over and the movement was dying.

In last two years, the Congress and communists had come closer and in this election the convergence was more apparent.

When asked what effect he thought would Sonia Gandhis campaign have on the Congress, Advani said it would not affect the election process. Her participation has stopped the disintegration of Congress, he said.

He said the BJP-TMC alliance in West Bengal was a historical step. In the coming elections, people in the state were determined to punish the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxists), he said. The BJP president said the Congress had withdrawn its support to the United Front government on the issue of Jain commissions report on Rajiv Gandhi assassination and asked why the Congress had not raised that matter in its election campaign.

The BJP president expressed the confidence about BJPs chances of forming a governmennt at the Centre. He said the party would get an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha this time: We will win by a comfortable majority and secure over 300 seats.