Two old allies, the Congress and the Left Front, have parted ways in the ongoing by-elections to six assembly seats in West Bengal. Voting for these seats will be held on November 13 and the nomination process has begun. During the nomination process, the Left has announced candidates for five of the six seats. With the Left announcing its candidate, it has now become clear that the alliance, which has been running in the state since 2016, will not appear in the by-election at least.
Talking about the alliance between the Congress and the Left, it began in 2016 when the two parties agreed to jointly contest the parliamentary elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, both parties fielded their respective candidates, but in the 2021 Assembly elections, the Left and Congress parties had announced an alliance in 2020. The 2021 parliamentary elections will be contested by the Congress Party, the Left Front and the ISF. The difference was that both the Congress and the Left parties came away empty-handed, while the only seats given to the alliance were won by the ISF.
Also read: By-elections to 47 seats in 13 states including Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, and Rajasthan will be held on November 13, and the results will be announced on November 23.
Despite the poor performance in the 2021 West Bengal elections, this has not adversely affected the Congress Party’s left alliance. Even in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the alliance continues amidst all the ifs and buts. Then Congress gained a seat and this time the Left too came away empty-handed. After such an outcome, the debate among left-wing parties about whether they should remain in parliament intensified. Some parties charge that the alliance with the Congress has dropped to zero. Now, both parties will be left alone in the by-elections held after the Lok Sabha elections.
Also read: West Bengal by-election: After BJP, TMC also announces candidates for 6 seats to be polled on November 13
The Congress is yet to announce a candidate but if party sources are to be believed, a list of possible candidates has been sent to Delhi. The selection will be announced within a day or two after approval from top leadership. Notably, after winning the Lok Sabha elections, six seats fell vacant due to resignations of MLAs. The six seats are Sitai, Madarihat, Naihati, Medinipur, Taldangra and Haroa parliamentary constituencies. The list of candidates on the left contains the names of candidates for the remaining five seats except Haroa.
Which candidate comes from which seat
According to the list released by the Left Front, Arun Kumar Burma of Forward Bloc from Sitai seat, Padam Oram of RSP from Madarihat, Debjyoti Majumdar of CPI (ML) from Naihati, Mani Kuntal Khamrui of CPI from Medinipur and Taldangra of CPI (Taldangra). M) will engage in electoral struggles. The Front also said that candidates for the Haloa seat will also be announced soon. This parliamentary by-election has set the stage for a comprehensive contest between the Trinamool Congress Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress Party and the Left candidates.