“Let’s wait and see what happens. There is still time. I have had a talk with Pranab babu. The agitation was an expression of people’s emotions,” said Abu Hashem, the sitting Congress MP from Malda who is contesting from Malda South on a Congress ticket.

State Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee is expected to talk to Naser in a few days.

Late Ghani Khan Choudhury won the Malda Lok Sabha seat for eight consecutive terms and after his death in 2005, his brother Abu Hashem Khan Choudhury won with a margin of 83,391 votes in a by-election. After the delimitation, the Malda constituency was divided into Malda North and Malda South.

For Malda South, the AICC nominated Abu Hashem while it decided to field Noor from Malda North. Hashem, however, has been backing his brother Naser’s candidature.

Meanwhile, the CPM is upbeat following the trouble in the Congress ranks in its stronghold in Malda.

Of the seven Assembly seats that make Malda North Lok Sabha constituency, four were won by the Left Front and just one by the Congress. The two new Assembly segments are Chanchol and Malatipur.

The CPM has pitted Sailen Sarkar from Malda North.