11th hour Dooars game

June 11: The Congress and Trinamul have both left a few seats vacant in the Dooars but for different reasons. The Congress wants to keep an opening for disgruntled tribals who may be “uneasy” allying with Trinamul, which has an understanding with two tribal outfits — the Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad and its breakaway rebel leader John Barla who has joined the JMM. Trinamul has tied up with the Parishad for seats in the gram panchayat and panchayat samiti levels. But with Barla, the ink is not yet on the paper. One of the reasons for the delay in the pact with the JMM is the question of which symbol Barla’s men would use if they contested for the zilla parishads. Sources said that Trinamul wants Barla’s associates to fight the election under the ruling party’s symbol. The JMM wants to fight the election under its own symbol. As no agreement has been reached, neither Trinamul nor the JMM gave nominations today for the zilla parishad seats. “That is why, the party (Trinamul) has not fielded candidates in a number of seats and would decide on filing nominations tomorrow,” said an observer. In the symbol tussle, the Congress may have spied some hope and so left a few seats in the two lower tiers vacant. “This political gesture of the Congress is simply for passing on an oblique message to the tribal leaders that in case they find it uneasy to ally with Trinamul, the Congress is all set to welcome them and field their candidates in the vacant seats,” said an observer. The Congress has not filed nominations in the panchayat samitis and gram panchayats at Malbazar, Dhupguri and Nagrakata blocks, all reserved for Scheduled Tribes. A district Congress leader said: “There are chances of new political equations, which can be worked out before the last date of withdrawal, which is June 17 for Jalpaiguri.” The Congress, sources said, was closely watching the discussions among Trinamul, Barla and the Parishad in the hope that any of the two tribal groups might want to severe ties with the ruling party at the last minute. The Dooars have 422 seats in 13 panchayat samitis, 2,346 seats in 146 gram panchayats and 37 seats in zilla parishad. It is no secret that whoever wins the support of the tribals will win in the Dooars. The JMM wants Trinamul to give its candidates in Malbazar, Kalchini, Metelli, Nagrakata and Dhupguri zilla parishad seats — all reserved for STs. Trinamul has so far left vacant three zilla parishad seats each in Malbazar and Dhupguri, and two seats in Metelli and Nagrakata blocks. Chandan Bhowmik, the Jalpaiguri Trinamul president, said: “Tomorrow being the last date of filing nominations, we will try to finalise the alliance…. In case differences persist, we would field our candidates in all the seats.” North Bengal development minister Gautam Deb said today: “We will hold a meeting tonight and we hope to finalise the issue (with the JMM).” In the panchayat samitis and gram panchayats, Trinamul has fielded common candidates with the Parishad, he added.