Kolkata, (Asian independent) The All India Secular Front (AISF) on Thursday announced its candidates for eight out of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal.
The eight constituencies are Malda Uttar, Jaynagar (SC), Murshidabad, Barasat, Basirhat, Mathurapur, Serampore, and Jhargram. Barring Jhargram, all the other seven constituencies have a sizable population of minority voters.
Sources in the AISF said that initially, the party was willing to field candidates in Jadavpur and Diamond Harbour constituencies, both in South 24 Parganas district, but later it decided to give away its stake in Jadavpur in support of the CPI(M) candidate, Srijan Bhattacharya.
However, dialogues are still on with the CPI(M) leadership on the possibilities of AISF fielding a candidate in Diamond Harbour, where Trinamool Congress has re-nominated its General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate from the seat.
Naushad Siddique, the lone AISF representative in the West Bengal Assembly, has already expressed his desire to contest from Diamond Harbour, if the party deems him fit.
