CPI(M) State secretary and former Lok Sabha MP Mohammad Salim ruled out any rethink on the Left-Congress alliance in West Bengal.
The alliance has faced repeated electoral drubbing in the State. In the 2024 general election, the Left parties failed to win a single seat in the State while the Congress bagged only Malda South.
The two parties, despite significant pushback from several quarters, had come to an electoral understanding in the 2019 Lok Sabha election but without any significant gains. The Congress won two seats and the Left parties drew a blank. Despite the setback, the two again worked together for the 2021 Assembly election with similar results. In 2021, both could not send a single legislator to the State Assembly. In the run-up to 2024, the Congress chose the Left over the Trinamool Congress. The Trinamool wanted the Congress to break ties with the Left and accept two seats that the Trinamool was offering.
‘Joint decision’
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Salim said the alliance with the Congress was a “well-thought” decision taken unitedly after deliberations with all Left allies. He dismissed the recent remarks by All India Forward Bloc State secretary Naren Chatterjee that the alliance between the two had not worked and that in future, the Left should contest alone.
“In West Bengal, the Left is under multiple attacks – physical, ideological and political. The Trinamool does not let our cadres function, while we have a running ideological battle with the BJP. The Left and Congress combine faces these adversaries together,” he said.
Later this month, the Left Front will hold a meeting with all its allies to discuss their losses and analyse their root cause. “If we had succeeded, many people would have lined up to congratulate us. But failure allows many to ask questions,” Mr. Salim added.
