Cong approach was evident, LF preparing to fight 294 seats: Salim

Kolkata: CPM had gauged Congress's approach and was preparing to contest all 294 Bengal assembly seats in the upcoming polls as part of the Left Front, according to party state secretary Md Salim. Salim's comments came a day after the Congress high command in Delhi decided that the party would go it alone in the Bengal polls."We had entered into seat-sharing arrangements with Congress and other parties in the 2016 and 2021 assembly polls as well as the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. But there was no joint Left-Congress movement in the past two years. Congress's approach was becoming evident to us. We have been discussing among Left Front partners that we should prepare to fight 294 seats," Salim said at a press conference on Friday.
Salim has been critical of state Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar in the past for his "soft approach to Trinamool". On Friday, the CPM state chief took a dig at Sarkar, who had replaced Adhir Chowdhury as state party chief in Sept 2024 after the LS polls, for being amenable to TMC. "We could sense his acceptance by TMC," Salim said.While CPM has been in talks with ISF and Humayun Kabir's JUP on seat-sharing, its Left Front (LF) partners aren't keen. Forward Bloc's state secretary Naren Chatterjee, who recently met LF chairman Biman Bose, said on Friday: "We have made it clear that Forward Bloc will fight in alliance only with LF partners. We won't object if any LF partner thinks ISF will increase their strength. But if we go for an alliance with any other party, whether Congress or ISF, people will suspect us."Reacting to this, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "CPM needs Congress, ISF or Kabir to fight because they aren't confident. As long as Congress was in alliance, they were happy. Suddenly, it has turned into the devil. CPM is critical even of its LF allies if they raise questions. They should fight alone this time to prove their strength."