KOLKATA, Feb 06 : The Congress has decided to contest the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections independently, formally ending its decade-long alliance with the Left Front and paving the way for a multi cornered contest across all 294 constituencies.
The decision was finalised during a meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence in New Delhi, where senior leaders largely supported a standalone strategy. AICC general secretary and Bengal in charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the move reflected the collective will of the leadership and grassroots workers. He noted that the previous alliance had failed to energise party cadres at the ground level.
Top leaders, including Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, held discussions with key state figures such as Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar, Adhir Chowdhury, and Malda South MP Isha Khan Chowdhury. Several state leaders also joined the deliberations virtually after earlier meetings on seat-sharing were postponed twice.
Mir indicated that both voters and party workers were keen on an independent contest this time. Within the state unit, however, opinions had been divided. The Murshidabad faction, led by former Pradesh Congress Committee chief Adhir Chowdhury, favoured continuing the alliance, while the Malda camp opposed any seat-sharing arrangement.
Party functionaries believe Congress has strengthened its position in roughly 60 constituencies, though Chowdhury’s personal electoral plans remain undecided.
During the discussions, Chowdhury argued that partnering with the Left in 2016 helped Congress emerge as the principal opposition in the state Assembly. Despite both parties failing to secure seats in the highly polarised 2021 elections, Congress later captured the Sagardighi bypoll with Left backing.
Sarkar, who supported evaluating the party’s independent strength, said younger members strongly advocated for a solo fight, a sentiment the central leadership factored into its final call.
The high command is also understood to have considered political dynamics in Kerala, where the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the CPI(M)-headed Left Democratic Front remain direct rivals.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress led in 13 segments primarily in Malda and Murshidabad—signalling incremental gains in vote share despite alliance-related inconsistencies. The party now hopes that contesting alone will sharpen its political identity ahead of the high-stakes state polls.