Mamata releases list for Trinamool,Democratic Front

Kolkata, Mar 13: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today (Mar 13, 2006) released a 201 member list of candidates for the West Bengal Democratic Front in presence of her alliance partners for the coming assembly polls, ending a month-long speculation about her election strategy.

Announcing the list of candidates of the 13 party opposition coalition under her chairmanship at a hurriedly called press conference, Ms Banerjee said of the 201 candidates a total of 193 belonged to the Trinamool Congress, while two each to Janata Dal(United)and the JKP(N) and one each to SSP, SJP(N), the Nationalist Congress Party and the SGP.

Since her talks with the Congress on one side and the BJP on the other are still inconclusive despite several rounds of parleys during the past one month, she had left altogether 93 seats vacant for them.

''Though we have decided to keep 53 seats vacant for the Congress and 23 seats for the BJP on the basis of my several rounds of discussion with their leadership, I have kept my doors open for further seat adjustments with them,'' Ms Banerjee said about her electoral strategy towards the Congress and the BJP.

West Bengal has a 294-member state assembly.

UNI