New Delhi, The possibility of a Congress-Left Front alliance for the Bengal Assembly elections seems “imminent” with senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi receiving such “views” from Bengal Congress leaders that will be forwarded to party president Sonia Gandhi.These views were voiced by the state Congress leaders in a meeting with Rahul Gandhi virtually on Friday.According to some political observers, Congress is eager to have an alliance with the Leftists for the Bengal polls at the earliest, as ‘a delayed deal’ has been cited as the reason for the party coming up short in the Bihar polls.Mr Gandhi’s meeting with the Bengal Congress leaders took place on a day when state politics took a new turn with Trinamool Congress veteran and key minister Subhendu Adhikari resigned from the cabinet and the chairmanship of Haldia Development Authority(HDA).
Sources said, the Bengal Congress leaders were of the view that the party should focus on winnable seats instead of the number of constituencies it gets to contest in an alliance.
Incidentally, a recent move for Congress-Left Front pact by Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Chowdhury had received a jolt when Forward Bloc, a Front constituent, took exception to the initiative stating not all Front members were “taking into account.”
In the 2016 Assembly Polls, Congress and the Left Front had fought together winning 76 of the 294 seats.
However, the Front walked out of the alliance later. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the parties failed to reach an agreement on seat sharing.