The PDCI announced on Saturday that the West Bengal Democratic Front — led by the party — has decided to contest between 10,000 to 15,000 seats in the panchayat polls. Nine political outfits are members of this alliance.

PDCI chairman and Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind state secretary Siddiqullah Chowdhury said his coalition still favours a one-to-one contest in the upcoming elections but the stand taken by major parties in the Opposition may mislead voters.

He was addressing reporters at the PDCI’s state-level workers’ conference organised at the Students’ Hall on College Street on Saturday.

Sources add expectations of a grand alliance against the CPM still persist.

“Having separate coalitions is not a problem. There can be alliances between coalitions too,” Chowdhury said.