No discussion with Humayun Kabir’s party over electoral alliance in Bengal: ISF’s Nawsad Siddiqui
Kolkata, Dec. 28 (IANS) – ISF chairman Nawsad Siddiqui said on Sunday that the party has received no proposal to team up with Humayun Kabir’s newly‑formed Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), whose leader is currently suspended by the Trinamool Congress. Siddiqui’s remarks followed a statement from Kabir the previous day in which he said he hoped to form an electoral alliance with the ISF for the next West Bengal Assembly elections.
Earlier this week, Siddiqui paid a visit to the CPI(M) headquarters in Kolkata, where he met with senior Left Front leaders who had allied with the ISF in the 2021 state polls. Speaking to reporters, Siddiqui stressed that “No one has contacted us with such a proposal. No one has had any such discussion with any leader of our state committee. If anyone had discussed this matter verbally with any member of our party’s state leadership, they would have informed me. Therefore, I am unaware of any such news that Kabir’s party wants an alliance with us in the Assembly elections.”
Kabir had said on Saturday: “In the future of Bengal politics, I and the ISF are joining forces. If AIMIM joins, they are welcome.” The ISF has now begun laying the groundwork for the upcoming Assembly contests. Siddiqui has sent emails to Left Front chairman Biman Basu and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Shubankar Sarkar, seeking talks on a possible alliance this time around.
While the Congress did not reply from Bidhan Bhavan, Left leaders responded positively. Siddiqui proceeded to the Left Front’s office on Alimuddin Street in central Kolkata, where he spoke with Biman Basu, CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim, and senior leader Srideep Bhattacharya. He said, “Alliance discussions have just begun. We want to unite the anti‑BJP and anti‑Trinamool forces. We discussed how to ensure the entire process runs smoothly. ISF is even prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of the alliance.”
The 2021 Assembly elections saw the Left Front, Congress and ISF form an electoral coalition called the United Front. While the Left and Congress did not secure any seats, the ISF won a single seat, with Siddiqui emerging victorious from the Bhangar constituency. However, the coalition fell apart in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when each side ran their own tickets.
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