ISF calls for Left-Cong unity to counter TMC-BJP ‘binary politics’
The Statesman | 22 January 2026
Indian Secular Front (ISF) chief and Bhangar MLA Naushad Siddique on Wednesday strongly advocated an immediate alliance of the Left Front, Congress and the ISF in West Bengal, asserting that only such a united front could effectively challenge what he described as the “binary politics” of the Trinamul Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Addressing the foundation day programme of the ISF here, Siddique said discussions with the Left Front and the Congress were already underway and stressed that the alliance should be finalised within this month. “If the Left, Congress and ISF come together, the joint binary politics of the TMC and BJP can be defeated and brought to an end,” he said.
Echoing the call for unity, Congress national working committee member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and CPI-M central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that all political forces outside the BJP and the TMC must unite to stop what they termed the “destructive politics” centred around religion. They alleged that both the ruling party and the BJP were indulging in polarisation through temple and mosque-related issues, to the detriment of democratic politics in the state.
Siddique also launched a sharp attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, accusing it of not being serious about the upliftment of minority communities and of “playing with their future”. He alleged that genuine residents holding valid documents were being harassed in the name of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. “No genuine citizen should be victimised during the SIR exercise,” he said, expressing apprehension that the process was disproportionately affecting minority communities, who have lived in the state for generations. He claimed that ordinary voters were being summoned for hearings and asked to submit documents unnecessarily, creating fear among the electorate.
“There is an attempt to terrorise people in the name of SIR. We are not against the revision exercise, but its hasty and inconsistent implementation by the Election Commission of India at the instigation of the BJP,” Siddique said, adding that the ISF would launch protests if the alleged harassment continued.
He further accused the TMC of “double-speak” on minority welfare, alleging that not all Dalits have received reservation benefits. Claiming that fake SC/ST certificates had been issued under the ruling dispensation, Siddique said that if the ISF ever had a role in governance, it would ensure that all those entitled to reservation benefits received them. Pointing out that the state has over one crore Adivasis, he expressed concern that many “real Adivasis” were left out despite the distribution of over 1.6 crore SC/ST certificates.
He also demanded that underprivileged Muslims deserving inclusion under the OBC category be brought within its ambit, proposing that up to 10 per cent of such people be covered. Referring to the Supreme Court’s stay on a Calcutta High Court order striking down the inclusion of 77 communities as OBCs under the 2012 Act, Siddique noted that the apex court had allowed the revised state list to continue as the matter was still under hearing.
The ISF chief also criticised what he described as “witch-hunting and attacks on Bengali-speaking migrants, many of them Muslims”, in different parts of the country, and urged both the Centre and state governments to take effective steps to stop such incidents. He demanded the scrapping of the Waqf (Amendment) Act and cautioned party workers against falling prey to provocation by TMC leaders and activists in their respective areas, including Bhangar.