West Bengal elections: Congress snaps decade-old alliance with Left, to contest on all 294 seats alone

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In a surprising turn of events, Congress has decided to snap its decade-old alliance with the Left Front and contest the upcoming West Bengal elections alone.

The Congress is set to field its candidates on all 294 seats in the poll-bound state, making the Bengal Assembly elections a four-cornered contest.

The announcement was made after Congress leaders from Bengal met senior leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

The development comes two days after Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ruled out an alliance with the grand-old party for the upcoming polls.

Sources said that TMC made an offer of just two seats to Congress, which was unacceptable for the party, according to a report by The Indian Express.

Meeting with party high command

All India Congress Committee's (AICC) Bengal in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir said: “Discussions were held over the Congress’s roadmap for the Assembly elections. All leaders gave their opinions. The leadership’s view was that the party will contest the Bengal polls alone this time. The national leadership stands with the state’s leadership’s decision.”

Leaders from Bengal told the Congress high command that the party had not been able to revive itself in the state for the past two decades due to its dependence on alliances, adding that a decision on the CM face would be taken after the results are announced. By going alone in the polls, the party will be hoping to attempt a revival of its grassroots network, IE cited sources as saying.

The meeting took place at the official residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at 10, Rajaji Marg, New Delhi. During the session, the majority of netas advocated for Congress to contest the elections alone.

"Electors in Bengal and workers in the state have the aspiration of fighting alone this time," Mir said, according to a report by The Times of India.

In the 2016 and 2021 Assembly polls, the Congress contested 92 seats in alliance with the Left Front. While it managed 44 seats with a 12.25% vote share in 2016, it drew a blank five years later and saw its vote share fall to 3%.