The All India Secular Front (AISF) has proposed an open seat-sharing arrangement to the CPI(M)-led Left Front in West Bengal for the upcoming state Assembly elections. This offer stands regardless of whether the Congress decides to join the arrangement. Nawsad Siddique, the sole AISF representative in the West Bengal Assembly, has set a deadline of January 31 for the Left Front to make a final decision and communicate it to the AISF leadership.
Siddique emphasized the need to initiate discussions promptly to reach a mutually agreeable seat-sharing agreement by the end of the month. The AISF clarified that the offer is exclusively for the CPI(M)-led Left Front, irrespective of Congress’s participation. This move comes after the Congress leadership in West Bengal expressed a preference for contesting the elections independently.
Previously part of a three-party alliance with Congress and the Left Front in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, the AISF distanced itself from the alliance during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls due to disagreements with Congress over seat allocations in minority-dominated districts. With no resolution in sight with Congress, the AISF is now seeking an alliance solely with the Left Front. The party acknowledged the absence of a broader anti-BJP and anti-Trinamool Congress alliance due to the current political landscape in the state.
Regarding discussions with the newly formed Janata Unnayan Party led by suspended Trinamool Congress legislator Humayun Kabir, the AISF has specified a condition. Siddique stated that talks with the Janata Unnayan Party could commence only if Kabir apologizes for previous communal remarks.
