CPM nominates Janardan for Bhubaneswar LS seat

CPM nominates Janardan for Bhubaneswar LS seat

While the CPI has proposed to field its candidates in 12 Assembly seats, the CPM had asked for seven seats and the JMM for five.

BHUBANESWAR: With the nomination of senior leader Janardan Pati for the prestigious Bhubaneswar Lok Sabha seat by the central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday, the Left party has signalled the formalisation of seat sharing with the Congress in the State.

Though OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik had several rounds of discussion with leader of the CPI, CPM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) over seat sharing for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, the parties are yet to come out with a joint statement on the electoral understating.

“An understanding has been reached among the parties that Congress will contest from 18 Lok Sabha seats leaving one each for the CPI, CPM and JMM. A decision on the Assembly seats will be taken shortly,” Pati told this paper.

As per the understanding, Aska Lok Sabha seat will go to CPI where the party is likely to filed national council member Ramakrushna Panda. The JMM will contest from Mayurbhanj parliamentary constituency as the party has considerable followings in the tribal-dominated district.

The State committee of the CPM is meeting on Sunday here to decide the number of Assembly seats the party will contest with electoral understanding with the alliance partners, Pati said. Sources in the Congress said the party is ready to leave 20 Assembly seats for alliance partners.

While the CPI has proposed to field its candidates in 12 Assembly seats, the CPM had asked for seven seats and the JMM for five. CPM veteran Sivaji Patnaik had successfully contested from Bhubaneswar seat in 1991 with support from the Janata Dal. The Left party had won the seat for three times all by Patnaik  in 1977, 1989 and 1991. Prasanna Patsani of the BJD has retained the seat consecutively for fifth term since 1998.

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