Congress, Trinamool discuss seat-sharing for West Bengal civic polls - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Congress Party and the Trinamool Congress have started a seat-sharing exercise for the upcoming civic elections in which they will be pitted against the Left Front. State Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee hoped that differences, if any, would be sorted out amicably. "We have discussed the preparation of the organizational elections like Municipal elections, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and elections in other 81 municipalities...in some places the discussions on the alliance had been started and in some places the discussions are yet to start. The preparation is on...we will take a very quick decision as soon as we get the reports from the district presidents," Mukherjee said Sunday. To a question, Mukherjee admitted there were problems in the tie-up arrangement for Murshidabad and Nadia districts, but was still hopeful for a solution. Elections for the 82 municipal bodies are likely to be held in mid- 2010. The Congress and the TMC tied up in West Bengal for last year's general elections, giving a blow to the ruling Communists. In the April/May 2009 parliamentary polls, the Communists won just 24 parliamentary seats, down from the 60 they had won in the 2005 polls.