The Bhangar MLA and the chairman of the Indian Secular Front, Nawsad Siddique, will not contest from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency despite his much-hyped announcement to fight against Trinamul leader Abhishek Banerjee.
The ISF on Thursday announced five more candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, including one for Diamond Harbour. The ISF also closed the scope for an understanding with the Left and Congress that wanted Nawsad’s party to join hands with them to put up a strong fight against Trinamul and the BJP.
The ISF has so far named contestants for 13 Lok Sabha seats.
For the Diamond Harbour seat, the ISF has nominated Maznu Laskar whereas lawyer Noor Alam Khan will contest from Jadavpur.
Speaking to reporters, ISF general secretary Biswajit Maiti said the decision not to nominate Nawsad for the Diamond Harbour seat was taken in the greater interest of the party. “Nawasad Siddique has a bigger role to play,” he said.
While deciding to go alone, Nawsad blamed both the Left, particularly the CPM, and the Congress for the failure to reach an “understanding”.
“The Left Front and the Congress were not eager to ally with the ISF. Left Front leaders were initially flexible, but ultimately became rigid like the Congress,” he said.
The CPM said the alliance couldn’t stitched because of the frequent changes in the ISF stand.