Four district Congress chiefs began an indefinite fast this afternoon demanding an honourable alliance with the Trinamool Congress for the May 30 civic polls in the state,but withdrew it at night after being assured by the leadership that the party would not go for any undignified alliance with the Trinamool Congress. "I sat with them for talks and told them that nothing will be done that will bring indignity to the party. The alliance will only be on honourable terms,otherwise there will be no alliance," WBPCC working president Pradip Bhattacharya said. WBPCC president and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also spoke to the four leaders over phone requesting them to withdraw the fast,Bhattacharya said. The Congress today stopped short of announcing its list for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) polls,even as the last date for filing nomination was extended by a day to May four. "It is taking some time to prepare the list. Though it is a local election based on local issues,it is sometimes necessary to wait for policy decisions," Bhattacharya told reporters earlier at the PCC headquarters. Party general secretary in-charge of West Bengal K Keshava Rao had met TC chief Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi but the meeting did not yield any solution. The four leaders went on a fast after airing their grievances on Trinamool's unilateral release of its list for the KMC polls leaving just 25 of the 141 wards to Congress. The hunger strike by four district party chiefs -Nirbed Roy,Pradip Ghosh,Santosh Pathak and Pranab Roy - comes close on the heels of the vandalising of the WBPCC office on April 24 and 27 by a section of party workers in protest against "insulting terms" of alliance. Stating that 25 seats were unacceptable,Pradip Ghosh had said yesterday that the party had prepared its list and was awaiting instructions about it from Pranab Mukherjee. Meanwhile,hundreds of party supporters thronged the WBPCC office and shouted slogans demanding an "honourable settlement" on seat adjustments. Demanding 51 seats,Roy said he and his colleagues would be "flexible" if discussions were held on the basis of this demand. "For the past five years,I have been pitching for poll alliance. But the alliance should not be such that it brings down the dignity of the party," he said. Accusing Trinamool Congress of dragging the Congress in a battle of Kurukshetra,Roy said,"If Congress is forced to unilaterally declare its nominees,the Trinamool will have to take the responsibility for it."
