Why Congress needs Mamata in West Bengal

New Delhi: Talks between Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Congress on seat sharing in West Bengal are not progressing as per plans.

Congress is keen to have Mamata as its ally because only then can it mount a serious challenge to the Left Front in West Bengal.

A look at the vote share in West Bengal shows that the Trinamool Congress is gaining at the expense of both the Left Front and the Congress.

In the 2006 Assembly elections 50 per cent people voted for the Left Front, 15 per cent for the Congress, 26 per cent for the Trinamool and just two per cent for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In 2007, the Left Front's popularity went up with 54 per cent people supporting it, the Congress also gained with its vote share going up to 19 per cent, Trinamool's popularity declined to come down to 13 per cent and BJP was constant at two per cent.

But now the Left Front has seen major erosion in support base with its support base down to 46 per cent. Congress, too, is down to 15 per cent, Trinamool has gained with its support base swelling to 27 per cent and BJP's popularity is also up to a seven-per cent vote share.

However, Mamata on Tuesday set a 48-hour deadline for the Congress to come to a decision on the alliance.

''AICC General Secretary K Keshava Rao rang me up to seek more time. We will wait for one or two more days...the Congress must speak out clearly if it really wants an alliance,'' Mamata told a press conference at her residence in Kolkata.

While announcing the names of the party's Election Campaign Committee, the Trinamool supremo indicated that her party was prepaped to go it alone in the coming Lok Sabha elections saying she was 'ready to face any situation'.

Holding the Congress responsible for the thaw in the process of seat adjustment, she said both the parties had reached a formula in which the Congress would fight from 14 constituencies and the Trinamool from the rest 28.

''The dispute over Bankura seat is also over since we have given it to the Congress in exchange of the Bishnupur seat. There should be no problem at all,'' she claimed.

(With inputs from UNI)