The All India Forward Bloc is poised to emerge as the only constituent of the Left Front to openly oppose any seat-sharing agreement with the All India Secular Front (AISF) for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

At a recently concluded two-day state committee meeting, the majority of Forward Bloc leaders in West Bengal resolved to reject any proposal for an electoral understanding between the CPI(M)-led Left Front and AISF. The matter is expected to be raised formally at the Front’s next meeting, where internal seat allocations are to be finalized.

The party also decided it would contest fewer than 32 seats in the 294-member Assembly this time. Forward Bloc’s West Bengal state secretary, Naren Chattopadhyay, said that given the Left Front’s uninterrupted 34-year rule from 1977 to 2011, voters continue to recognize and trust the alliance’s independent political identity. “The Left Front should therefore contest on its own strength,” he stated.

Notably, the Forward Bloc has consistently resisted alliances beyond the Left Front fold. It had earlier opposed the Front’s seat-sharing arrangements with the Indian National Congress beginning in the 2016 Assembly elections and continuing through the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party had also objected to the Left Front joining the “Sanjukta Morcha” (United Front) during the 2021 Assembly elections, where Congress and AISF were partners.

The Congress has already declared that it will independently contest all 294 constituencies in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, ruling out any alliance with either the Left Front or the All India Trinamool Congress.

Meanwhile, AISF has reportedly informed the Left Front, particularly the CPI(M), that it seeks no fewer than 40 seats in any arrangement. The Front has so far offered 32 seats — not necessarily from AISF’s preferred constituencies.

AISF leaders argue that had Congress remained part of a broader alliance, the overall seat-sharing negotiations would have involved a much larger allocation pool. However, CPI(M) leaders counter that with Congress staying out of the equation, other Left Front partners — including CPI, Revolutionary Socialist Party, and Forward Bloc — are also pressing for a larger share of seats.

The final contours of the Left Front’s electoral strategy are expected to be decided in the coming weeks.