Armed with Trinamool Congress support, Congress nominee for Rajya Sabha Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Monday sparked off the possibility of the two parties joining forces against BJP in the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held next year.

“The need of the hour is to prevent division of votes which would be the fallout of a tringular or a quadrangular electoral contest,” the Congress nominee said during the day.

Advertisement

“I know of constituencies in West Bengal which I am not naming where BJP candidates will sail through even if they get 20 to 22 per cent of the total votes,” Sighvi, addressing a Press conference on Monday, said.

“It will be of no use if the other contestants get 80 per cent of the votes among themselves,” he said, hinting at division of votes unless an electoral understanding is worked out in the absence of which the saffron camp
contestant will emerge the winner.

“No undue advantage can be given to BJP” Singhvi said underscoring the importance of keeping anti-BJP votes intact.

Earlier, he said an issue based co-ordination already exists between Congress and Trinamul on different issues of the Business Affairs committee or raising issues in the Parliament.

While PCC chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader, Abdul Mannan remained seated at the latter’s chamber throughout the day making no secret of their lack of empathy for Singhvi who had appeared for the Narada accused, the Congress nominee showed no discomfiture.

“The support from Trinamul is based on past record of co-ordination and there is nothing contradictory about it,” he said.

“Such co-ordination is based on fight on issues which have arisen from a persecution complex coupled with an ambience of fear and intimidation prevailing all over the country for the past four years,” Sighvi said in a dig towards the BJP-led NDA regime.

“It is owing to this ministry of fear that voices of protest have arisen from DMK and TIS in the south, Trinamul, RJD and BJD in the east, BSP and SP in the north and Shiv Sena in the west,” he felt.

In all, 40 MLAs ~ 20 each from the Congress and Trinamul supported his candidature. Accompanied by some Congress MLAs, Singhvi filed his papers to the returning officer at the state Assembly here.

Left Front nominee, Rabin Deb said earlier that though he does not have the requisite numbers since all the voters in the Rajya Sabha polls are peoples’ representatives they should keep in mind while casting their votes the onslaught their electors are facing on economic and religious fronts.