Solo act or silent understanding? Congress and the Left in Bengal

The Congress and the Left are set to contest the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections independently after the Congress earlier this month ended its tie-up with the Left Front. The move has triggered fresh speculation in a state where politics is dominated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and its principal challenger, the BJP.Also Read | Congress's Bengal dilemma: Who should grand-old-party target in 2026 polls - BJP or Mamata Banerjee?The decision marks another turning point for the two once-dominant forces that now find themselves struggling for relevance in Bengal’s increasingly bipolar political landscape. What drove the Congress to go it alone and what does the split mean for both the party and its now-former ally?

The Congress’ calculus

The Congress’ decision to go it alone has raised eyebrows given the party’s shrinking footprint in West Bengal. However, explaining the rationale, a West Bengal unit leader said the central leadership believes the party has little to lose by contesting independently.

At the same time, the leader acknowledged that the contest is likely to be dominated by the TMC and the BJP.“The breakdown of our understanding with the Left has effectively left no space for a third pole in Bengal’s politics,” the leader told news agency PTI, requesting anonymity.

With the alliance no longer in place, the Congress plans to focus on consolidating its own vote share rather than relying on alliance arithmetic.

Political observers also point to a contrast between the party’s current state leadership and its previous leadership. They say the relatively conciliatory approach of Subhankar Sarkar, the current boss, made it easier for the central leadership to end the Left alliance. The previous chief, ex-Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, was a known Mamata Banerjee critic and had set aside differences with the Left in an effort to unseat a common adversary.

Left’s response — and its options

After staying silent for a few days, the Left responded to the Congress through CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, a senior leader of the bloc.Also Read | 'Congress will suffer': CPM’s MA Baby on grand old party's decision to contest Bengal polls alone“Congress is adopting a sectarian approach in West Bengal. We can cooperate with them only if they realise the importance of holding hands with secular, democratic, and progressive forces,” Baby said in Kolkata on February 13.

He added that in the struggle against “communal forces,” particularly the BJP, the Left favours alliances wherever feasible with like-minded parties, including the Congress.Some Left leaders say the bloc now intends to formalise all political arrangements — both official and tacit. They add that this would give the grouping time to deliberate on candidate selection with allies before finalising the list.Could such an understanding also exist with the Congress?

Congress’ exit to impact Left bloc?

The Congress’ absence from any prospective Left-led coalition could limit, if not significantly dent, the bloc’s electoral impact.

This, political analysts say, is because the split could lead to a division of votes, mostly benefiting the TMC. As such, some form of ground-level understanding between them cannot be ruled out.At the same time, the Left and the Congress are direct rivals in Kerala, which is scheduled to go to the polls around the same time as West Bengal. The Left secured a second consecutive term in Kerala in 2021, breaking the long-standing pattern of power alternating between the Left and the Congress every five years.

With anti-incumbency likely after a decade of Left rule, the Congress believes it has a realistic opportunity to reclaim power.In that context, contesting separately in West Bengal allows both parties to avoid uncomfortable questions about Kerala. Yet a tacit understanding in Bengal would also signal that despite sharp political attacks against each other, there is no irreparable strain in their broader political relationship.

Congress and Left: How arch-rivals became political allies

The old adage goes that politics makes strange bedfellows, often uniting rival forces against a common enemy too formidable to tackle alone. For the Congress and the Left in West Bengal, that adversary was Mamata Banerjee.The rise of Banerjee and the TMC pushed the two once-dominant political forces to the margins of Bengal politics. Since toppling the Left in 2011, the Trinamool has not only retained power but also expanded its dominance, crossing the 200-seat mark in successive assembly elections.

This meant that the Congress and the Left had little choice but to join hands, only to soon confront a relatively new but rapidly expanding challenger in the BJP.In 2019, as the Modi wave swept the country for a second consecutive general election, the BJP increased its tally from two seats in 2014 to 18 of West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, reducing the TMC’s count from 34 to 22. In the 2021 assembly polls, the BJP cemented its role as Banerjee’s principal rival by winning 77 seats in the 294-member state assembly, a sharp jump from just three in 2016, even though several of its legislators later defected to the ruling camp.

With the two principal players firmly entrenched, the Congress and the Left were reduced to marginal players in a contest they had once dominated.

Congress-Left alliance: What numbers say

The current Congress-Left alliance breakup in West Bengal is not their first. They went their separate ways in March 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. They came together again in December 2020, just months before the state held assembly polls in March-April 2021, and now have parted ways once again.The Congress last fought the West Bengal assembly elections independently in 2006, securing 21 seats. In 2011, it doubled its tally to 42 when it fought in alliance with the TMC.The 2016 assembly polls marked the first time the Congress and the Left joined forces as formal alliance partners. The Congress once again delivered a creditable performance, winning 44 seats, while its Left allies accounted for the remaining 33 seats won by the bloc.In 2021, the Indian Secular Front (ISF) secured the Left Front’s lone seat. The Congress later opened its account by winning a by-election, taking the alliance tally to two seats.Taken together, the numbers show that the Congress-Left alliance has struggled to translate cooperation into meaningful electoral gains, except to some extent in 2016.

A double-edged sword?

The Congress’ decision to contest alone in West Bengal is a bold but risky strategy.

While securing a win—or even a second-place finish—appears unlikely, the party could aim to establish itself as the state’s third major political force. This may not translate into many seats, but it could reflect in its overall vote share. On the other hand, there’s a real risk of being pushed further to the margins.The ballot that will determine the future of both the Congress and the Left Front in West Bengal is fast approaching. These former dominant parties face a crucial test of their relevance, voter base, and ability to reclaim even a fraction of their past influence. The coming weeks will reveal whether they can mount a revival or continue their slide toward the margins of state politics.