The Left Front on Monday announced the names of candidates who would contest in different seats of the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad (SMP) while leaving one seat for the Congress.

“We are fielding candidates in eight of nine seats in SMP. We have left one seat vacant where we lack adequate base and would like to support the Congress candidate. We are putting all efforts to thwart Trinamul and the BJP from winning the rural bodies in all three tiers here,” said Jibesh Sarkar, a state secretariat member of CPM.

On June 26, elections will be held in nine seats of SMP, in 66 seats of four panchayat samitis and in 462 seats of 22 village panchayats.

Among the SMP seats, the Left will not put any candidate in one seat of Phansidewa block, the leaders said.

CPM candidates, including former sabhadhipati Mani Thapa and veteran trade union leader Gautam Ghosh, will contest in seven seats.

One seat has been provided to Forward Bloc, one of the allies of LF.

Tapas Sarkar, the former sabhadhipati of the Left board of SMP, is not contesting this time.

The decision to leave one seat for Congress has come as a reconfirmation from the Left’s that it intends to go ahead with “Siliguri Model,” that is, forge an informal alliance with the Congress.

Back in 2015, when rural elections were held in Siliguri sub-division for the last time, the strategy had helped the Left to secure the SMP, all the four panchayat samitis and 11 of 22 panchayats.

Congress leaders, when contacted, admitted that talks are on at local levels with the Left for adjustment of seats in the two lower tiers.

“So far as the SMP seats are concerned, we had asked for three of nine seats but only one seat has been left for us. We are discussing the number of candidates we will field in SMP. Our list will be published tomorrow,” said a senior Congress functionary.