RS elections: Mamata hints at displeasure over Cong putting up its candidate

Mamata Banerjee today hinted at her displeasure over Congress putting up a candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections from West Bengal noting that the party cannot win without the support of the Left Front.

"Without Left Front support, they (Congress) cannot win. Let us watch," she told reporters here.

Banerjee said if there was an "understanding" between the Congress and the Left, then it could happen for "bigger things". "This is not good," she remarked.

Her comments came on a day when senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan today filed his papers from Champdani in Hooghly district of West Bengal giving rise to another bone of contention between the two allies.

Trinamool Congress has renominated union minister Mukul Roy and given tickets to three journalists.

A report from Kolkata quoted AICC leader R C Khuntia as ruling out the possibility of Mannan withdrawing his nomination.

Khuntia also said his party would neither indulge in horse trading nor take support from the Left Front.

On whether the Congress with 42 MLAs in the 294-member House would have enough numbers to see its candidate through, Khuntia said, "West Bengal has 26 per cent minority votes.

"Abdul Mannan has been nominated to give them representation. Those who are secular-minded and those who want him to go to the Rajya Sabha will surely vote for him. In the Rajya Sabha elections, there are second and third preference votes," he said.