Congress is not likely to contest for the post of deputy speaker in West Bengal assembly, senior party leader today said reverting from the stand taken last week by the party.
"We have not taken any final decision regarding the matter. Some senior Congress MLAs are against the decision of contesting for the post of deputy speaker. We will take a final call regarding this on June 17, when the assembly session begins," Leader of opposition and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan told PTI.
Mannan, however, did not disclose the reason behind Congress MLAs' stand of not contesting for the post.
Some senior MLAs, who spoke to PTI on condition of anonymity cited two main reasons behind the decision not to contest.
"Firstly we don't have the numbers to win if there is a contest. The CPI(M)-Congress combine has 76 seats whereas the ruling TMC has 211 seats. How can you win the contest?
"Secondly if there is voting and three BJP MLAs vote in favour of alliance candidate then it would be fatal as TMC would get the opportunity to say that we have forged an alliance with the communal party," a senior MLA said.
Mannan had said last week that Congress had decided to contest for the post of deputy speaker.
