In October, Kolkata’s lone India Secular Front (ISF) member in the state assembly, Nawsad Siddique, told reporters that the ISF is still waiting for a reply from the Left Front about starting a seat‑sharing talks for next year’s West Bengal polls.
Siddique says he sent a letter to CPI‑M state secretary Biman Bose in August asking for negotiations that would mirror the 2021 arrangement between the ISF, Congress and the Left Front. Although the ISF received a promise that talks would begin after Durga Puja, he has not heard back from the Left.
In 2021, the ISF, Congress and the Left Front split seats in a pact that left the Left and Congress with no seats in the assembly, while Siddique became the only associate of the alliance to win a seat. This year, the ISF ran alone even though Congress and the Left Front kept their coalition.
For the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections, no party until now has moved to formalise a new seat‑sharing deal – apart from Siddique’s letter to Bose. Comments from CPI‑M and Congress leaders have raised doubts about whether a pact will be reached this time.
CPI‑M politburo member Md Salim has said that the decision on the Left’s seat‑sharing rests with the Congress leadership. Meanwhile, State Congress President Subhankar Sarkar told reporters that while the final choice will come from the party’s national high command in New Delhi, most district leaders in West Bengal prefer Congress to contest independently this year.
The outcome of these negotiations will shape the political landscape for the 2026 West Bengal assembly polls, as the parties seek to court voters and avoid vote‑splitting.
Source: ianslive
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