Mamata teams up with NCP for Bengal polls

A day after sealing a seat-sharing deal with the Congress on her terms, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday broadened her alliance in West Bengal by bringing in United Progressive Alliance ally Nationalist Congress party, which was allotted one seat in Coochbehar district in north Bengal.

Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy told PTI the NCP joined the TMC-Congress alliance after a telephonic conversation between party chief Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday.

Roy said, "NCP has been given the Dinhata seat in Coochbehar district where we had already named Mihir Goswami as our party candidate.''

Roy said the NCP would now contest the seat against the Left Front candidate there.

In the 2006 assembly election, Ashok Mondal of Trinamool Congress had won the Dinhata seat, bordering Bangladesh, defeating his nearest rival Udayan Gupa of Left Front constituent Forward Bloc.

Mondal was not re-nominated by the party this time and Gowswami was fielded instead.

There are nine seats in Coochbehar district, six of which would be contested by the Trinamool Congress, two by the Congress and one by the NCP.

Of the total 294 seats up for grabs, Trinamool Congress would contest 227, the Congress 65, Socialist Unity Centre of India two and NCP one.