The Trinamool Congress has agreed, in principle, to
join the People's Democratic Front (PDF) formed by five non-Congress
parties in Manipur to wrest power from the Congress which was had been
in power for two consecutive terms.
Nimaichand Luwang — president of the Manipur People's Party (MPP) and also PDF's convener — told The Hindu
over phone from Kolkata on Monday that he and another MPP leader
Thounaojam Chaoba have had an extensive discussion with Mukul Roy, who
is Trinamool leader in charge of Manipur, on the possibilities of the
Trinamool joining the PDF.
Mr. Luwang said that he
was “hopeful” that the Trinamool would join the PDF. Mr. Roy has sought
clarifications on a couple of issues.
The Trinamool
had refused to join the PDF before the January 28 elections, saying that
it alone would form the next ministry. It contested 47 seats in the
60-member House.
On being asked about the number of
ministerial berths and portfolios the Trinamool would demand in case the
PDF formed the next ministry, Mr. Luwang said that the details of seat
sharing would be hammered out once the results were out on March 6.
Other parties such as the BJP and the CPI had already expressed their
readiness to join the PDF.
Five parties — the
Nationalist Congress Party, the MPP, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal
(U) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) — had formed the