Suvendu offers late Congress MLA Somen Mitra's wife BJP ticket; Sikha seeks Sonia meeting

INC leader Sikha Mitra, wife of late West Bengal Congress party president Somen Mitra, on Monday accused the state leadership of sidelining her and threatened to leave the party.

Mitra, a former TMC MLA, accused the incumbent Bengal Congress president, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, of sidelining her and her son Rohan Mitra. She claimed that state leadership was compromising with the core ideology of the Congress. Mitra also did not rule out joining the BJP in near future. 

Suvendu Adhikari assures ticket to Sikha Mitra, her son

Incidentally, saffron party leader Suvendu Adhikari met her on Sunday evening at her home. Mitra revealed that Adhikari requested her to join the BJP and assured them a ticket for the Bengal assembly polls. 

However, Mitra said she wants to speak to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi before taking any decision. Sikha's son, Rohan Mitra is a general secretary of the state Congress unit. 

Her husband Somen Mitra, a veteran Congressman, died of age-related ailments in July last year. He served as an MLA from the Sealdah constituency in the Chowringhee district from 1972 to 2006. Having served Congress for many decades, Mitra also played a key role in Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's political career when she was a part of the Youth Congress. 

Congress-Left tie-up in Bengal

In West Bengal, the Congress has stitched an alliance with Left parties namely the CPI(M) and the newly floated India Secular Front (ISF) founded by Furfura Sharif Cleric Abbas Siddiqui. , the alliance has also announced the names of constituencies from where each party will contest for the first two phases of the Assembly election in West Bengal. Consensus on some seats is yet to be arrived at by the alliance partners, as per sources. The Left Front has also announced the names of candidates for the seats allotted to it.

Elections to the 294 seats in West Bengal will be held in eight phases across 1,01,916 polling stations from March 27 to April 29. The counting of votes in both states will take place on May 2.