The Congress will contest 65 seats in West Bengal and the Trinamool Congress 229, it was announced here on Monday.
The decision was announced by Shakeel Ahmed, the Congress leader in-charge of the party's affairs in West Bengal. The breakthrough came after finance minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee spoke to Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata over telephone.
"In West Bengal, Congress will contest 65 seats and TMC will contest 229. We will work in close cooperation to win the election to defeat the Left from the state," said Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed.
Before that, Mukherjee had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi here.