The Bengal Congress announced its first list of candidates for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation on Saturday, with 66 names, hinting at the absence of political alliance with the Left in the forthcoming civic polls.
Former Congress MLA Nepal Mahato said his party had sent a proposal to the Left Front regarding the polls, but as there was no response, the Congress decided to go ahead on its own.
The Congress list has the names of two former Trinamul councillors — Partha Mitra and Mumtaz Begum. They have been fielded as candidates for wards 8 and 138. Mitra and Begum were dropped from Trinamul’s list of names issued on Friday.
Congress sources said the party would field candidates in 122 out of the 144 wards of the CMC.
The Left on Friday announced its list of 114 candidates for the December 19 CMC polls.
CPM Calcutta district committee secretary Kallol Ma¬jumdar had said then that they would not field candidates in 1516 wards. Anyone, including from the Congress and the ISF, who can defeat Trinamul in these wards will be sup¬ported by the Left, Majumdar had said.
