Kolkata: Months ahead of the assembly polls, ISF MLA Nawsad Siddique on Wednesday called for a non-BJP alliance to oust TMC from office. CPM and Congress, too, said they were "open to dialogue with partners with similar objectives".
TMC hit back strongly, accusing BJP of setting up its "B, C, D teams in Bengal" to split votes. In the 2021 assembly polls, the ISF-Left-Congress combine had contested all 294 seats, with only Siddique winning.
Siddique, who addressed a rally at Shahid Minar ground to mark the foundation day of ISF on Wednesday, said they were talking to Left Front and Congress to form a non-BJP alliance to "defeat Trinamool".
"We will speed up the discussions from Thursday and try to give shape to the alliance by the end of this month. Otherwise, the alliance will not have enough time to percolate to booth-level workers (before the polls)," he said.
Trinamool, in its response, did not name Siddique. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, "I will not name anyone. Before the polls, we always see BJP setting up B, C, D teams in different guises. The idea is to split votes. Anyone knowingly or unknowingly falling for this deceit is ultimately helping BJP."
He said people in Bengal had "decisively" voted against such attempts. "It is a proven fact in Bengal that only Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool can defeat BJP. To defeat BJP, and its vile attacks on Bengal, its people, its language and culture, one needs to vote for Trinamool. There can be no alternative."
After Siddique's statement, CPM said a secular alliance against Trinamool was the need of the hour. "Political parties talk to each other before polls. Non-BJP parties that are against Trinamool should talk to each other. Any sensible person would feel that if the state is to be saved from misrule, there has to be a narrative beyond mandir and masjid. The secular parties in the state will have to unite," said Sujan Chakraborty, a member of CPM's central committee.
Pradesh Congress president Subhankar Sarkar said they were in talks with ISF. "We don't have any problem talking to parties that believe in pluralism. But we will have to assess if that is strengthening Congress or not. We have already clarified that Congress' priority is to strengthen the party in Bengal." Congress neta Adhir Chowdhury, too, welcomed the alliance.