Raghunath Kushari, CPM state secretariat member, said: “We are planning to release the list as early as possible.” He said this prior to attending a two-day CPM state committee meet at the party headquarters in Alimuddin Street. A party source said CPM will announce the list at a rally in the Brigade Parade Ground.

According to a party insider, CPM has identified seven Lok Sabha seats where the party might lose votes due to the Nandigram and Singur land issues. They are Contai and Tamluk in East Midnapore, Diamond Harbour and Jadavpur in South 24 Parganas, Serampore in Hooghly, Krishnagar in Nadia and Barasat in North 24 Parganas.

The party is reportedly considering Rabin Deb as its candidate against Mamata Banerjee in the Kolkata South parliamentary seat. Deb had contested against Banerjee in the same constituency during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls and reduced her victory margin. In the Tamluk seat, Alimuddin Street bosses favour Lakshman Seth, the sitting party MP, though a section of local leaders want a new face.