The Communist Party of India-Marxist-led Left Front on Thursday announced candidates for 16 of West Bengal's 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, keeping the doors open for a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress.
Announcing the first list of candidates, Left Front chairman Biman Bose said that of the 16 names announced, 14 are new, of whom three are women.
He told a press conference that the Left Front will "not say no" if Congress wanted to have seat adjustment with it.
"They have to come forward and accordingly the seat adjustment negotiations can continue," he said.
Bose said that the state leadership of Congress is probably in Delhi to talk with the AICC leadership.
"So let them finish their talk with the AICC leaders and then they will be in a position to have talks (with the Left Front)," he said.
Asked how long the four-party Left Front will wait for the Congress to take a call on seat adjustments in the state, Bose said the leadership will sit again after two-three days.
"If someone wants to use this time, then we will also be ready to use that," he said.
He said there can always be seat adjustment with Congress if it comes with a "practical proposition".
Bose reiterated the Left Front's stand that it will fight against both the BJP and the TMC in West Bengal and will stay with opposition bloc INDIA.
Veteran CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty and CPI's Biplab Bhatta are the only candidates who have been fielded again by the Left Front, while the other 14 are new. Chakraborty, a former MP from Jadavpur, was fielded from Dum Dum, and Bhatta will contest from Medinipur.
The CPI-M fielded its students' wing SFI's leaders Srijan Bhattacharya and Dipsita Dhar from Jadavpur and Serampore, respectively.
Forward Bloc's Nitish Chandra Roy will be the Left Front candidate from Cooch Behar, Debraj Barman of CPI-M from Jalpaiguri, RSP's Jaideb Siddhanta from Balurghat and CPI(M)'s SM Sadi from Krishnanagar.
Saira Shah Halim will contest from the prestigious Kolkata South constituency on a CPI(M) ticket, while practising lawyer Sabyasachi Chatterjee will fight the polls from the Howrah constituency.
CPI-M's Monodip Ghosh was fielded from Hooghly, while the party's Sayan Banerjee, another lawyer, will fight from Tamluk.
CPI-M's Nilanjan Dasgupta will fight from Bankura. From Bishnupur, CPI-M's Sital Kaibarta will contest, while from Bardhaman Purba, CPI-M's Nirab Khan was fielded. CPI-M's Jahanara Khan will contest from Asansol.
Bose said that the Left Front has not had any talks so far with ISF on seat adjustment, but would speak to the party if it wants to.
The Front had entered into a seat-sharing arrangement with the ISF in the 2021 assembly elections. The ISF won the Bhangar seat in South 24 Parganas district.
In the last Lok Sabha polls, the Left Front could not win a single seat. It also drew a blank in the 2021 assembly elections.
Bose said that the Left Front does not accept the CAA, claiming that the BJP-led government at the Centre has based the citizenship issue on religious discrimination.
The TMC has announced candidates for all 42 seats, while the BJP has named candidates for 20 seats in the state.
