WB Cong seeks AICC nod for formal dialogue with Siddiqui for alliance

Amidst seat sharing talks withthe Left Front, Congress in poll-bound West Bengal Thursdaysought AICC's nod to initiate formal dialogue with the newlyformed Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Pirzada Abbas Siddiquifor a grand alliance of secular parties in the state sansTrinamool Congress.

Senior state Congress leader Abdul Mannan, who is alsothe leader of opposition in the assembly, in a letter to partypresident Sonia Gandhi said he has already started ''unofficialdialogue'' with ISF and WBPCC president Adhir Chowdhury hasvisited Siddiqui of Furfura Sharif shrine.

The Muslim cleric has called the Congress move a''positive development''.

''The addition of ISF in the Left-Congress alliance maybe a game changer in the ensuing assembly elections ... I havestarted unofficial dialogue with the ISF and the PCC presidentvisited Siddiqui's place recently. He has discussed the issuewith me and is seeking my help because of my personal relationwith Pirzada Siddiqui's family since decades,' Mannan said.

CPI-M Politburo member Md Salim has also starteddiscussions with Siddiqui, he said.

'He (Siddiqui) is popular for his oratory skills amongMuslims, as well as dalits and tribals,' Mannan said in hisletter and added that lakhs of people gather at his meetingsin minority, tribal and dalit areas.

Stating that 30 per cent of the population in thestate are Muslims, he said of them 90 per cent are Bengalispeaking and are the traditional vote bank of the Congress.

The 34-year-old Pirzada told reporters ''It is apositive development. But it is too early for us to comment onthe issue.

''Let us see how things unfold,'' he added.

In a development that might upset political equationsin highly polarised West Bengal, Pirzada Abbas Siddiqui, whoheads the Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district, floated hispolitical outfit on January 21 contending that he wished to bethe kingmaker after the assembly polls due in April-May.

The influential cleric, who became the first religiousleader in West Bengal to take the plunge into politics, hadsaid Indian Secular Front plans to contest the elections.

The Pirzada had also exuded confidence of a possibletie-up with the Left-Congress alliance.

Siddiqui had said in recent interviews that the MamataBanerjee government has done ''more harm than good'' for theMuslims by creating a Hindu-Muslim divide.

He had asserted that his newly floated politicaloutfit will prove to be the ''kingmaker'' in the state andrejected as ''baseless'' the accusation that he has decided tojump into the electoral battle to cut into TMC's Muslim votebase which has been assiduously nurtured byChief MinisterMamata Banerjee over the last ten years.