Congress Eyes Solo Run in Bengal Polls

Recent reports indicate the Congress party is leaning towards contesting the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections independently, ditching potential alliances. An alliance with the Left Front appears unlikely, as party sources cite past coalitions' failure to revive Congress's base, reduced to marginal seats after 2016 ties. Even a tie-up with Trinamool Congress (TMC) looks grim, with Mamata Banerjee ruling it out and state units opposing seat-sharing amid TMC's dominance. District Congress leaders favor going solo to rebuild organizational strength against BJP-TMC rivalry, with screening committees assessing viability before a final high command call. This strategic shift aims for long-term revival in a polarized state.

CPM is a worried lot, cadre trying to avoid this embarrassment after 55 years

The leaders and workers of Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) are huddled at the party headquarters in New Delhi. Reason, the poor performance of the party in local body polls in Kerala held in December last year. The party is preparing strategy as a defeat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the 2026 Assembly elections would mean, for the first time since the 1970s, that communist parties hold no state Government in the country. In the recently held local body elections in Kerala, the Congress-led UDF emerge ahead with 38.81 per cent of the total votes polled, surpassing the LDF. Moreover, BJP won the corporation in the state capital and it was great loss of face more than an electoral setback as it was the symbolic crash of its longest-standing urban fortress. The cadre is aware of the clear message that the state is apparently ready to accept a seismic shift in its governance structure.