Kolkata: The question of whether Opposition unity is fraying ahead of the Assembly polls, and whether this could give the ruling Trinamool Congress a psychological edge, is being widely discussed in Bengal’s political circles.
The debate has intensified after the Congress ruled out any pre-poll alliance with the Left. Adding to the uncertainty, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) may announce candidates in some seats next week without waiting for the Left, apparently to mount pressure on it.
According to sources, the Left Front has not yet decided how many seats the ISF will be allotted, as there is reported “unhappiness” among Left Front allies over the proposed seat distribution.
Sources said the ISF may announce some candidate names next week. The party is likely to field candidates in Canning East and Canning West, while its lone MLA, Nawsad Siddiqui, is expected to contest again from Bhangar.
Meanwhile, seat-sharing talks among the Left allies appear to be faltering. The CPI(M) is reportedly unwilling to concede 30 seats to the Forward Bloc as demanded, while differences have also emerged with the RSP, which had contested 11 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections during its alliance with the ISF. The CPI(M) is said to be reluctant to accommodate the number of seats sought by the RSP as well.
Snapping ties with the Left Front, the Congress has decided to “go it alone” in the 2026 Bengal Assembly polls and contest all 294 seats, setting the stage for a four-cornered contest. AICC general secretary and Bengal in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir recently said the decision was taken collectively by the party leadership.
Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar echoed the stance, saying an alliance with the Left was now a thing of the past and that the party had chosen to respect the wishes of its workers by contesting alone.
Although both the Congress and the Left Front failed to win any seats in the polarised 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress did register a victory in the Sagardighi by-election with Left support.
Sarkar said the party leadership decided to fight alone after taking into account the views of youth leaders who favoured testing Congress’s strength independently.
Meanwhile, the BJP is on the back foot in Matua-dominated areas following the SIR rollout, which has sparked anxiety over citizenship and voting rights, and is also grappling with organisational weaknesses.