Aug. 6: The Left Front today decided not to stake claim to form the Malda zilla parishad board, but it would field a candidate for the post of sabhadhipati of the North Dinajpur body as it saw a higher probability of success there.

Both zilla parishad boards are hung.

“We will not contest to form the Malda zilla parishad board as the combined Congress-Trinamul strength is more than ours. As for North Dinajpur, the number of seats we have won equals that of Trinamul and the Congress taken together. So, we will put up a candidate (for the post of sabhadhipati) there. Our prospects of winning the North Dinajpur board are bright,” Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

He made the announcement following a Left Front meeting at Alimuddin Street this afternoon.

Of the 38 seats in the Malda zilla parishad, both the Congress and the Left have won 16 each while Trinamul has bagged six. According to Bose, the Left’s refusal to field a candidate for the post of sabhadhipati in Malda is because of apprehensions that Trinamul and the Congress might tie up to form the board.

The party that forms the zilla parishad board occupies the post of sabhadhipati.

The Left’s stand on Malda was also prompted by the state Congress’s decision that the district unit would take the call on a tie-up with Trinamul to form the board.

“As the state Congress has said the Malda unit will decide whether to form the board with or without Trinamul, there is every possibility of the Left losing the contest as the Congress is bent on putting up a candidate for the sabhadhipati’s post and forming the board. So, arithmetically, we have no chance,” former RSP MP Manoj Bhattacharyya said today.

Asked about the Congress’s decision, a party vice-president said: “The Malda unit chief has been authorised to take a decision in this regard.”

A CPM source said the Malda Congress was trying to win the support of some Front constituents to form the board.

“Of the Front’s 16 seats, four belong to non-CPM allies. The Congress is trying its best to get the support of a section of our allies. If the Front puts up a candidate, there could be cross-voting, which would sully our image,” the source said.

In North Dinajpur, the Left has won 13 of the 26 zilla parishad seats. The Congress has bagged eight and Trinamul five. In the event of the Congress and Trinamul tying up to form the board, the combined figure will be equal to the Left’s. A toss will then decide who will run the zilla parishad.

But North Dinajpur Congress chief and MP Deepa Das Munshi’s statement that her party would sit in the Opposition in the zilla parishad has given the Left hope.

Left Front chairman Bose said: “We have the chance to win the North Dinajpur zilla parishad. That’s because Deepa Das Munshi has already said that the Congress will play the role of the Opposition.”

Rahul poser

Rahul Gandhi today sought to know from the Bengal Congress the reasons for the “disappointing result” in the panchayat polls and asked state leaders to prepare an action plan for the party’s revival in the state.

Bengal Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharya admitted to organisational lapses and accused Trinamul and the state government of using money and muscle power to manipulate the elections, sources said.