Left Front-led Alliance

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Last edited May 7, 2026


Template:Infobox political party

Left Front-led Alliance (Template:Small LF+)[1][2] is an alliance of left-wing to centre-left political parties led by the Left Front in West Bengal ahead of 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election in opposition to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[3][4][5]

History

Background

Following the fall of CPI(M)-led Left Front government in West Bengal along with the rise of the Trinamool Congress in 2011 and the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, the CPI(M) had welcomed ideas of the broad understanding of secular and democratic forces. The first signs came when in the Siliguri municipal election, CPI(M) made some local understanding with INC resulting in CPI(M) leader Ashok Bhattacharya being appointed as the mayor. This success got popularity as the "Siliguri Model".[6] After the success of the model, in the long run, some Congress and CPI(M) leader advocated for a Left-Congress alliance.[7] This gradually materialized into "alliance" between INC and Left Front. The precedence of the Left Front providing outside support to the UPA-I government in 2004-2008 was cited in support.[8] Given the political history of West Bengal, the materialisation of an alliance between the Congress & the CPI(M), 2 parties that have been bitter rivals of each other since the 1970s & have a history of unleashing political violence against each other's cadres, took the political circles of the state by surprise. After much dispute and secession of two far-left groups: SUCI(C) and CPI(ML)L, from the Left Front, both Congress and the Communists formed an understanding basis of what they called "seat-sharing", strongly objecting to the use of the word "alliance".[9]

2016 election and Mahajot

In 2016, Mahajot[10][11][12] was formed on the broad agreement that some political parties proposed before the 2016 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election for fighting against the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and the Bharatiya Janata Party on national level. Left Front consisting of CPI(M), CPI, RSP, AIFB and DSP along with INC released their respective candidate list in several rounds after consultations and bargaining.[13][14] However, the alliance failed to gain the majority seats in the assembly elections.[15][16]

Halt in broader understanding in 2019

Afterwards, ahead of 2019 Indian general election, the alliance between the Congress and the Left Front is off the cards as both camps could not agree on a seat-sharing formula for Lok Sabha elections, especially in the Raiganj and Murshidabad seats, where the incumbent MP was from CPI(M) but the MLAs of the constituent legislative assembly seats were mostly from the Congress.[17][18]

2021 election and Sanjukta Morcha

Subsequently, Mahajot was succeeded by the Sanjukta Morcha[19] in 2021 with the joining of ISF in the alliance. Despite a spirited campaign, both the Left Front and the Indian National Congress drew a blank in the election with a considerable decrease in their respective vote shares. That was the first time when the West Bengal Legislative Assembly was devoid of any MLA from Left Front or Congress.[20] Afterwards, ahead of 2024 Indian general election, ISF decided to contest alone in the Lok Sabha polls due to some differences in seat sharing and marks the end of alliance with Left and INC.[21] Thereafter, Sanjukta Morcha was succeeded by the LF–INC Alliance[22] or the Secular Democratic Alliance. The alliance won only 1 seat (Maldaha Dakshin by INC) out of the 42 it contested.[23]

2026 election, exit of Indian National Congress and larger Left unity

Afterwards, ahead of 2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election Indian National Congress decided to fight alone in the polls marking the end of LF–INC Alliance.[24][25] On the other hand, Left Front kept uniting other left parties (communist and socialist parties) including CPI(ML)L and other 'secular', 'democratic' forces and fractions[26] together forming a broader Left alliance (LF+).[27][28][29][30][31] Subsequently, ISF once again joined hands with the alliance led by the CPI(M)-led Left Front.[32] The alliance won 2 seats (Domkal by CPI(M) and Bhangar by ISF) out of 293 it contested.[33]

Members

Political parties

Symbol and Colour Party Flag Ideology Political position Leader(s)
Left Front
style="background-color: Template:Party color"| File:CPI(M) Election symbol.png Communist Party of India (Marxist) File:CPI-M-flag.svg Marxism-Leninism
Anti-imperialism 		Left-wing to far-left M. A. Baby
Mohammed Salim
style="background-color:Template:Party color"|
File:CPI symbol.svg
 Communist Party of India File:CPI-banner.svg Marxism-Leninism
Anti-imperialism 		Left-wing to far-left D. Raja
Swapan Banerjee
style="background-color:Template:Party color"|
File:Indian Election Symbol Lion.svg
 All India Forward Bloc File:All India Forward Bloc flag.svg Left-wing nationalism
Anti-imperialism 		Left-wing G. Devarajan
Naren Chatterjee
style="background-color:Template:Party color"|
File:Indian Election Symbol Spade and Stoker.png
 Revolutionary Socialist Party File:RSP-flag.svg Revolutionary socialism
Anti-imperialism 		Left-wing Manoj Bhattacharya
Tapan Hore
style="background-color:Template:Party color"| File:CPI(M) Election symbol.png Revolutionary Communist Party of India File:RCPI Flag.jpg Marxism-Leninism Far-left Subhash Roy
style="background-color:Template:Party color"| Marxist Forward Bloc Marxism Left-wing Ashish Chakraborty
style="background-color:Template:Party color"| Bolshevik Party of India Marxism-Leninism Left-wing Probir Ghosh
style="background-color:Template:Party color"| Workers Party of India Marxism Left-wing Shipra Chakraborty
style="background-color:Template:Party color"| Biplobi Bangla Congress Democratic socialism Centre-left to left-wing (Not specified)
Left Front allies
style="background-color: Template:Party color"|
File:Flag Logo of CPIML.png
 Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation File:CPIML LIBERATION FLAG.jpg Marxism-Leninism-Maoism
Anti-imperialism 		Far-left Dipankar Bhattacharya
Abhijit Majumder
style="background-color: Template:Party color"|
File:Indian Election Symbol Bat.png
 West Bengal Socialist Party Socialism Left Wing Manindra Chandra Paul
style="background-color: Template:Party color"|
File:Indian Election Symbol Envelope.jpg
 All India Secular Front File:ISF flag.svg Social justice Centre to centre-left Nawsad Siddiqui
style="background-color: Template:Party color"| Social Democratic Party of India File:SDPI Flag.jpg Social justice Centre to centre-left Hakikul Islam

Past members

Party Flag Ideology Political position Leader(s)
style="background-color: Template:Party color"| Indian National Congress File:Indian National Congress Flag.svg Secularism
Civic nationalism 		Centre Subhankar Sarkar

Election results

Results of State Assembly election in West Bengal

Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | Election Year Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | Overall Votes Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | % of overall votes Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | Total seats Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | Seats won
 Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | +/- in seats Style="background-color:Template:Party color;color:white" | +/- in vote share
2026 293 2 Template:Increase1

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

  1. ↑ West Bengal Left Front Appeals for Greater Unity. People's Democracy(18 May 2014).
  2. ↑ Left Front moves to forge broader alliance ahead Assembly polls. The statesman. Retrieved 28 Feb 2026.
  3. ↑ Surjya Kanta Mishra: 'West Bengal Left bringing secular forces together to fight Trinamool and BJP'. Frontline(12 February 2021). Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Bengal CPI(M) for unity of Left, democratic and secular forces(8 Feb 2018).
  5. ↑ CPM open to alliances with ‘secular forces’ in Bengal(27 Feb 2025).
  6. ↑ 'Siliguri Model': How the Left-Congress 'alliance' was forged(17 April 2016). Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ↑ Left-Congress alliance in West Bengal Elections 2016, hinted Left leaders.
  8. ↑ Left parties seek Coordination Committee meet. Times of India(19 April 2006). Retrieved 27 Feb 2026.
  9. ↑ Left Front reaches ‘understanding’ with Congress. The Hindu. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
  10. ↑ WB Congress Calls For Alliance With CPI(M), Other "Secular Forces"(29 Feb 2016).
  11. ↑ West Bengal Elections 2016: CPI(M) to take final call on alliance with Congress next week(12 Jan 2016).
  12. ↑ CPI-M and Congress alliance to continue in Bengal(23 May 2016).
  13. ↑ West Bengal Assembly Election Left Front Candidate List 2016.
  14. ↑ West Bengal Assembly Election Congress Candidate List 2016.
  15. ↑ West Bengal results: It's Mamata all the way, Left-Congress experiment fails(19 May 2016).
  16. ↑ West Bengal: Left-Congress alliance weak in arithmetic and chemistry. The Indian Express(22 May 2016).
  17. ↑ Left-Congress alliance in a mess(19 February 2019).
  18. ↑ We're done: Congress calls off alliance with the Left in West Bengal(18 March 2019).
  19. ↑ With Brigade Rally, Left-Congress-ISF's 'Sanyukta Morcha' Kicks Of Bengal Poll Campaign. Outlook India(2021-02-28). Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  20. ↑ The rise of BJP and fall of leftist and Congress in West Bengal(3 May 2021).
  21. ↑ Left Front's electoral understanding with the Indian Secular Front falls flat(4 April 2024). Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  22. ↑ রাজ্যে ফের বাম-কংগ্রেস জোট, আসনরফা নিয়ে লক্ষ্মীবারই বৈঠক সেলিম-অধীরের(14 Feb 2024). Retrieved 14 Feb 2024.
  23. ↑ Left draws a blank in West Bengal, Isha Khan wins for Congress. The Hindu(5 June 2024).
  24. ↑ No Alliance, Congress To Go Solo In All 294 Seats Of Bengal. Retrieved 21 Feb 2026.
  25. ↑ Congress solo move sharpens TMC-BJP binary ahead of Bengal polls. Deccan Herald. Retrieved 27 Feb 2026.
  26. ↑ Will Left Front Be Able To Find Back Winning Ways In 2026 Bengal Assembly Polls?. ETV Bharat(26 October 2025). Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  27. ↑ Left Front moves to forge broader alliance ahead Assembly polls. The statesman. Retrieved 28 Feb 2026.
  28. ↑ It’s a rejuvenated CPI-M, it’s a resurgent Left: Mohammed Salim on Bengal polls. The Statesman(12 April 2026).
  29. ↑ WB Assembly Election: আজই বামেদের প্রার্থী তালিকা প্রকাশ, জোট কি হচ্ছে? জানিয়ে দিলেন বিমান বসু. TV9 Bangla. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  30. ↑ CPI(ML) Liberation to contest 10 seats in Bengal in alliance with Left Front. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  31. ↑ আসন সমঝোতার প্রশ্নে সহজ পার্টি-গণিত কঠিন হয়ে দাঁড়াচ্ছে সেলিম-বিমানদের কাছে. ETV Bangla(11 March 2026).
  32. ↑ ISF-Left Front Alliance: বামেদের সঙ্গেই সর্বাত্মক জোটে আইএসএফ! বুধবারের মধ্যেই কাটবে আসন রফা নিয়ে জট, ঘোষণা নওশাদের. News18 Bangla(24 Feb 2026).
  33. ↑ CPI(M) ends electoral drought in West Bengal with single assembly seat win. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
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