West Bengal Bypolls 2024 | Left Front to fight alone after seat-sharing talks fail with Congress

New Delhi: The Left Front will fight against the Congress in West Bengal by-polls after failing to seal a pact, but in Jharkhand, the CPI(ML)L has managed to stay put in the I.N.D.I.A bloc. The CPM and CPI failed to convince alliance managers to allot them seats, leaving them to fight alone in around two dozen seats.

Interestingly in West Bengal, the Left Front has allotted one seat to CPI(ML)L, which has been fighting alone so far and had appeared to be at variance with the CPM line of targeting the Trinamool Congress and BJP alike.

CPI(ML) will get at least four seats in the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance in Jharkhand, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi has allocated CPM two seats in Maharashtra, though it is demanding two more seats.

Poor alliance management is said to be the reason the Congress and the Left Front failed to reach an understanding in six Bengal Assembly seats where by-polls are scheduled for November 13. Sources said there was no contact between Congress and the Left until Monday.

The Congress and the Left Front had seat adjustments in the 2021 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections but this time, sources said newly-appointed West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar reached out to the Left parties only on Monday, saying they do not want to close the window of cooperation.

At the same time on Sunday, the Bengal Congress had recommended six names for bypolls to the central leadership.

In the meantime, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal also asked former state chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to reach out to Left leaders. With CPM Bengal Secretary Mohd Salim out of town, Chowdhury is learnt to have approached veteran leader Biman Bose, who discussed the Congress reach out with other Left Front leaders.

With Congress fighting Sitai in 2021, there was a proposal to leave the seat for them but Forward Bloc objected to it. As CPI(ML)L too entered the scheme of things, Naihiti was allotted to it while CPI took Midnapore, RSP got Madarihat and CPM settled for Taldangra.

Incidentally, the Left Front also decided not to field a candidate in Haroa where the ISF, which was denied a seat in 2024 by the alliance, is fielding a candidate. Sources linked the development to Sarkar's “soft” remarks on Trinamool Congress after being appointed as a successor to Chowdhury, who has been a known critic of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

In Jharkhand, CPM and CPI failed to get a seat from 11 out of 81 constituencies earmarked for smaller allies while CPI(ML)L, which demanded at least six seats, was allotted four seats.

This has prompted CPM and CPI to field nine and 14 seats in Jharkhand against the I.N.D.I.A allies. Though there is no official announcement, JMM is said to be fighting 41 seats, Congress 30, RJD 6 and CPI(ML) 4 seats.