Malda district Congress president Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury has made it clear that the party will not leave a single seat for other party in the district except the Left Front in the Assembly polls.

The statement is being seen as the rejection of demand for seats in the Malda district by the Indian Secular Front (ISF) which was floated by Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui.

“We have finalised the alliance and sharing of seats with the Left Front. Now, it is not possible to spare even one seat for any other party in Malda and the neighbouring Murshidabad district. There can be adjustments in seat sharing in some other districts but not here,” Choudhury, who is also the Malda South MP, said on Sunday.

Siddiqui’s ISF has been holding talks with Left and Congress leaders for an alliance and demanded seats in Malda, a district that has around 55 per cent Muslims.

While attending an event in Malda on January 26, Siddiqui said the ISF was planning to contest from at least half of the 12 Assembly seats in the district.

Told about Choudhury’s comment, Siddiqui still sounded confident.

“Negotiations are always possible if the Congress agrees to share some seats with us,” he said over the phone.

In the 2016 Assembly polls, the Congress had contested from nine seats in the Malda district and won eight.

“We will field candidates in all these nine seats this time also. The Left can contest from the remaining three seats,” said Choudhury.

Ambar Mitra, the district Left Front convener, said: “The Left Front needs at least five seats in Malda district. Instead of considering old electoral records, we should take into account the present political situation.”