Deadlock over three seats between Left Front and ISF continues; talks ongoing
Telegraph | 24 March 2026
The deadlock between the Left Front and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) over seat-sharing remained unresolved on Monday as Nawsad Siddiqui’s party went ahead to announce candidates for 23 Assembly constitiencies.
The tussle over seats deepened with the ISF deciding to field candidates for three seats — Nandigram, Panskura West and Murarai — from where the Left Front has put up their candidates. The dispute appears to have stemmed from what the ISF perceives as a unilateral decision by the Left Front to declare candidates without taking the ISF's wishes into account.
ISF chairman Siddique, while addressing reporters, suggested that the party had deliberately delayed its announcement in anticipation of a last-minute consensus.
“We have received a message from the Left Front. So before announcing our second list, we have left a day’s gap (Tuesday) and expect a consensus. For the last seven months, we held talks with LF leadership at their office for the sake of a united fight to defeat the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. We would not like such a plan to get unsettled at the last moment,” said Siddique, who would contest from Bhangar where ruling Trinamool has fielded Saokat Molla.
The ISF had initially staked claim to 73 seats but eventually reached an understanding with the Left Front to contest 29. However, the ISF later pressed for four additional seats and set a deadline for the Left Front leadership to respond, which ended on Monday without a breakthrough.
A senior CPM leader in Calcutta indicated that efforts to bridge the differences were underway. “Talks are still on. There are differences over certain seats where both ISF and LF want to fight. These differences will be sorted out very soon for a united fight against Trinamool and the BJP,” the leader said.
The ISF’s latest list is also notable for its social composition, with seven Hindu candidates among the 23 nominees. Other than Siddique, who will contest from Bhangar, the list also features former Trinamool Congress leader Arabul Islam, who has been fielded from the Canning East constituency.
CPM third list
On its part, the Left Front also released its third list of 15 candidates on Monday. Prominent names include CPM veteran Tapan Ghosh from Garbeta, Murshidabad district secretary Zamiruddin Molla from Hariharpara and senior party leader Abdur Rouf from Entally.
With these additions, the Left Front has so far declared candidates for 239 seats. Of the 15 candidates announced on Monday, 13 belong to the CPM and two to the Forward Bloc.