AGARTALA, Sept 9 - The CPI(M)�on Saturday�said the incumbent Chief Minister Manik Sarkar would lead the Left Front in the crucial Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.�
�If Manik Sarkar remains fit, the Left Front will contest the elections projecting him as the Chief Ministerial candidate as he has a proven skill to lead the ruling front�, said party�s State secretary Bijan Dhar.
While addressing a press conference in the party headquarters here, Dhar said that party�s constitution does not bar a person from contesting elections or holding the post of Chief Minister for more than two or three terms.
In case of Rajya Sabha, the party is of the view that one leader should not be sent for more than two terms, he clarified.
On the CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury�s case, party�s Central Committee member Gautam said normally the party doesn�t send a leader to Rajya Sabha or Lok Sabha after he/she becomes party�s General Secretary. �Apart from this, the party is not in a position to send Yechury to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal on its own strength. More so, seeking support for Rajya Sabha poll is not ethically right move. That�s why Yechury�s candidature was stalled�, he explained.
Both the leaders indicated the Left�s candidate list for the 2018 Assembly polls will be a mixture of old and new. �A combination of old and new has always been beneficial and the party will go with this concept�, Dhar said.
Meanwhile, the ruling party would organise a sit-in demonstration in front of 58 blocks in the State on September 14�demanding hike in MGNRGEA outlay, increase in both mandays and wage.
