Congress state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Left Front Chairman Biman Bose on Sunday came together for a joint news conference — the first time since their parties struck a seat-sharing pact in Bengal after hiccups.

Both conveyed their intent to put up a united fight against the BJP and Trinamool, but they ended up exposing chinks.

Chowdhury, a known Mamata Banerjee baiter, attacked the chief minister by asking why she distanced herself from the INDIA bloc and compared her with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar who switched sides from INDIA to NDA.

"What happened for which you quit the INDIA bloc even after naming it? We are very keen to know the reason for becoming a Palti Kumari like Nitish Kumar, a Paltu Kumar?" Chowdhury asked, alluding that Trinamool and the BJP had a secret pact.

"Nitish Kumar quit the INDIA bloc because he had to retain the CM's chair. You should not be surprised in future if our Congress-Left grouping wins a significant number of seats and Didi forms the government with the help of the BJP to retain power in Bengal," added the five-term Congress MP from Behrampore.

Chowdhury went on to establish his hypothesis by referring to the BJP's decision of fielding a lesser-known face against Trinamool national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from Diamond Harbour.

Bose took a different line. Bose focused on the broad understanding among the INDIA constituents and said the equation among the allies would not be similar across the country because of local constraints.

He then gave the example of Kerala.

"Today I am sitting here with Adhir babu. However, the political relationship between the Congress and the Left Front is not the same everywhere.... In Kerala, the Congress plays the leading role in the UDF (United Democratic Front) and the CPM plays the pivotal role in the LDF (Left Democratic Front)," said Bose.

CPM state secretary Md Salim and Chowdhury's arguments have generally converged in the past on the issue of a Trinamool-BJP secret understanding.

The comments of Bose — who made an ardent appeal to people to vote for the Congress and the Left nominees — captured an attempt to justify why some INDIA bloc constituents were fighting against each other.

If assessed closely, he was probably unknowingly endorsing what Mamata has been saying over the last few days while stressing that although Trinamool has been going it alone in the state, it would remain an integral part of the anti-BJP national grouping.

Even on Saturday, in her campaign rallies in Malda, Mamata claimed her party would play a pivotal role in forming the government at the Centre as part of the INDIA.

The Left and the Congress came together after Trinamool and the Congress failed to reach a consensus on seat sharing. However, many in the Left and the Congress have blamed Chowdhury for the "half-baked seat-sharing arrangement."