Congress, Left parties to hold mega joint rally in poll-bound Bengal

The CPI(M)-led Left Front and theCongress, which have entered into an electoral alliance forthe coming Assembly elections in West Bengal, will organise amega joint rally at Kolkata in February or March, LF chairmanBiman Bose said here on Thursday.

Leaders of the LF and the Congress, who have beenholding parleys regularly on seat-sharing arrangements, metfor another round of discussions during the day.

The parties decided to jointly hold a mega rally atthe Brigade Parade Ground either in February or in March, Bosesaid after the day's meeting.

Bose, Leader of the Opposition in the outgoingAssembly Abdul Mannan of the Congress and other leadersparticipated in the discussions.

The Congress High Command and the central leadershipof constituent parties of the Left Front have given a go-aheadto their state units for a seat-sharing arrangement for theelection to the 294-member assembly due in April-May.

The LF and the Congress had contested the 2016Assembly poll in the state in a seat-sharing arrangement, butthe alliance had fallen apart after that and the Front and theCongress fought the 2019 Lok Sabha elections on their own.

In the 2016 Assembly elections, the LF-Congressalliance won 76 seats, with the Congress winning 44 seats andthe Front emerging victorious in only 32 constituencies.

The Left Front failed to open its account in WestBengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while the Congresscould manage to win two seats. The state has 44 Lok Sabhaconstituencies.