Left Front Parties Oppose Future Alliance with Congress in West Bengal

Following a disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal, two key players within the Left Front coalition, namely the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), have expressed their disapproval of any potential future alliances with the Congress party.

In the electoral battle, where the Left Front failed to secure even a single seat in the State, the Congress managed to clinch one victory in Malda South, while the dominant Trinamool Congress emerged triumphant with 29 out of the 42 seats. The Left Front had contested from 33 constituencies, leaving the remaining nine for the Congress candidates to contest.

The State Secretary of AIFB, Naren Chatterjee, highlighted that the Congress-Left alliance, witnessed in both the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, had proven to be ineffective. AIFB faced defeat in all three contested constituencies of Barasat, Purulia, and Coochbehar, garnering a mere 0.24% vote share across West Bengal. Notably, despite the alliance, Congress candidates were present in Purulia and Coochbehar as well.

Chatterjee underlined the lack of consultation in the seat-sharing process between the Left Front and Congress, emphasizing that the AIFB had fielded its own candidates in these specific seats. He attributed the losses partly to the historical political animosity between the Congress and the Left in the State, suggesting that the Left should not bear the brunt of Congress’ past actions in Bengal.

Expressing ideological opposition to Congress, Chatterjee stated that AIFB had no inclination towards sharing electoral space with the party. The conflicting past of the Congress and the Left in West Bengal has further fueled this stance.

On a different note, the General Secretary of RSP, Manoj Bhattacharya, viewed the Congress-Left collaboration as more of an adjustment than a true alliance. He justified the partnership as a strategic move to combat the BJP and Trinamool Congress, rather than a unified political front.

As the Left Front prepares to convene with all its allies later this month to introspect on the electoral setbacks, both AIFB and RSP have indicated a reluctance towards future Congress-Left alliances in the foreseeable future. While discussions are underway, a definitive decision on the matter is pending.