The decision has enraged large sections of the Congress in both Delhi and Kolkata. In Delhi, the West Bengal Pradresh Congress President Manas Bhuniya was verbally attacked by state leaders Deepa Dasmunshi, Shanker Singh and many others for selling out the interest of the party and for not fighting and standing up for its party men. In Kolkata, effigies of the PCC president were burnt as Congressmen openly showed their resentment against the leadership.
But insiders say that Bhuniya had little say in the Congress's decision on seat sharing. Gandhi did not even meet the PPC president or the All India Congress Committee General Secretary in-charge of the state Shakeel Ahmed before taking the call.
Sources say Gandhi had a one-hour discussion with her political secretary Ahmed Patel to discuss West Bengal after which Pranab Mukherjee was called to 10 Janpath. In this meeting the decision to go with Banerjee was taken. The finance minister spoke to Banerjee over the telephone and said that the Congress was with her in the fight against the Left.
The Trinamool Congress chief had set a 1600 hours deadline for the Congress to decide on the alliance after which she said she would announce the candidates for the remainder of the seats. The Congress held a press conference at 1545 hours in which Ahmed announced that the party had agreed to the alliance with Trinamool and would be happy to contest 65 seats.
The Congress president in her eagerness to please Banerjee also sacrificed four members of Legislative Assembly in constituencies where the party had never conceded defeat. This includes the seat of seven-time MLA Ram Pyare Ram in Kolkata.
Earlier Gandhi had made it clear to senior leaders that there would be no alliance if Banerjee did not give seats to MLas like Ram Pyare Ram. However, she later softened a stand and decided to let Trinamool have its way. Insiders say the Congress president did not even call up Banerjee and try to persuade her for more seats.
It is learnt that Congress blinked owing to pressure from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who wanted a change from the Left Front rule in West Bengal. Moreover, the United States is taking a keen interest in the state, as it too wants the end of the 34-year-old rule of the Left. Gandhi is also said to have turned a deaf ear to her son Rahul's views, who was against the alliance in the current form.
Mukherjee is likely to face flak from party men in the state, as the buzz is that he pushed for the alliance since his son was contesting from the state. A leader close to Mukherjee said he may find it difficult to even tour the state now, as party cadres are likely to blame him for what they are calling the "sell out".
In a number of districts like Kolkata, East Midnapore, south Dinajpur the Congress has been left with no presence at all, since they are not contesting any seats there, thanks to Banerjee and Gandhi, said a state leader who has been camping in Delhi.
Out of the 170 seats in south Bengal, the Congress is contesting only 12 seats while the remainder seats are from north Bengal. But despite all of this the alliance is likely to give the Congress-Trinamool combine an edge to defeat the Left parties in the state, say sources.
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