West Bengal Left at Crossroads Again as CPI(M) Struggles to Revive Relevance Ahead of Assembly Polls
West Bengal: Once considered politically unassailable in West Bengal, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its Left allies now find themselves at a familiar crossroads, struggling for relevance as the state moves toward another Assembly election.
The decline of the Left has been stark. In the 2021 Assembly elections, the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Indian National Congress, contesting together in an unusual alliance, failed to win a single seat in the 294-member House. The 2024 Lok Sabha elections further underlined the erosion, with the Left failing to secure even one of West Bengal’s 42 parliamentary seats, while the Congress managed just one.
Against this backdrop, CPI(M) state committee secretary Mohd. Salim has repeatedly signalled the need for renewed political understanding with the Congress. His outreach reflects the Left’s weakening organisational base and its growing dependence on alliances, even as previous tie-ups ended in electoral disasters.
However, the Congress’s recent decision to break off ties has deepened the Left’s uncertainty. Congress leaders in the state have reportedly conveyed to the central leadership that over two decades of coalition dependence has left the Pradesh Congress Committee organisationally hollow. The current thinking within the party is to rebuild morale among grassroots workers independently, without alliance crutches.
Observers say the change in Congress’s state leadership has also altered the political tone. Former state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, known for his sharp attacks on Mamata Banerjee, had earlier set aside ideological hostility toward the Left to confront a common adversary. His successor, Subhankar Sarkar, is seen as more aligned with the Congress high command and less inclined toward region-specific political manoeuvres.
Within the CPI(M) itself, divisions have sharpened over the possibility of aligning with Islamic parties such as the Indian Secular Front (ISF) or the Janata Unnayan Party. The ISF, led by Naushad Siddiqui, had earlier been part of the Left-Congress alliance but is now reportedly demanding 50–60 seats, primarily in Muslim-majority constituencies. This has raised concerns within the CPI(M) about cascading pressures from other partners seeking larger seat shares.
Salim’s recent meeting with Humayun Kabir, who is associated with the Janata Unnayan Party and is currently building a replica of the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, added to the internal unease. Though Salim clarified that the interaction did not signal an imminent political alliance, the optics triggered speculation and dissent within the party and among Left Front allies such as the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
Amid this churn, veteran CPI(M) leader Biman Basu is expected to step in as Left Front chairman to steady the situation. Though no longer a formal member of the state committee due to age, Basu remains a special invitee and is likely to hold bilateral discussions with Left Front partners before convening a joint meeting to determine the bloc’s tactical direction.
Left leaders indicate that both formal and informal political understandings are expected to be finalised by the end of the third week of the month. This timeline would allow the Front to move toward negotiations on candidate lists. These deliberations are set to continue at the CPI(M) state committee meeting scheduled for next week, where alliance strategy is expected to dominate discussions.
Our Thoughts
The West Bengal Left’s predicament reflects more than electoral decline; it highlights an identity crisis shaped by years of coalition dependency, organisational erosion, and shifting voter bases. While alliances once helped the Left remain politically visible, repeated failures have now raised doubts about their effectiveness. As the Assembly election approaches, the CPI(M) faces a difficult choice between tactical partnerships and rebuilding independently. Whether it can regain relevance without further diluting its ideological core remains the central question confronting the Left in Bengal.