The West Bengal state secretariat meeting of the CPI(M) unanimously decided on Monday to field fresh faces in several vital constituencies in the Lok Sabha polls. At least eight of the 19 sitting party MPs in the state will not contest this time.

The decision will have to be ratified by the party's state committee, which is meeting here on Tuesday. After this, there will be a Left Front meeting on Thursday or Friday, which will decide Front candidates for the 42 constituencies in the state. Of the 42, 19 are with CPI(M), three each with CPI, Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party, six with the Congress and one with Trinamool.

Sources said LS speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who has been suspended from the CPI(M), is sure to lose his Bolpur seat. Nabadwip's suspended MP Alokesh Das, Krishnagar's Jyotirmoyee Sikdar and Mathurapur's Basudeb Barman will also not be re-nominated for non-performance.

Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication