MASSIVE: Congress announces alliance with Left parties for 2021 West Bengal Elections

In a major development ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections next year, the Congress has decided to forge an alliance with the Left parties in the state. The development was announced on Thursday by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Earlier on Thursday, Chowdhury had also attacked West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and blamed her for BJP's rising influence in the state ahead of the major elections. 

READ: Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury Alleges CM Mamata Banerjee Paved Way For BJP In Bengal

Congress to form an alliance with Left parties

Taking to Twitter, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the decision was taken by the party high command on Thursday. 

'Mamata Banerjee Paved Way For BJP In Bengal': Congress

Earlier he had launched an attack on Mamata Banerjee and stated that she paved the way for the saffron party in the state. Asserting that BJP had no relation with the state, Chowdhury said that the TMC opened the doors to BJP. Referring to the TMC-BJP alliance in the 1999 Lok Sabha polls, Chowdhury has said that Congress had warned Mamata Banerjee at that time but she helped the strengthening of BJP in Bengal, as per ANI. 

READ: Trinamool Suffers Another Political Jolt; 5 TMC Leaders Set To Join BJP With Supporters

2011 & 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections

In the 2011 West Bengal assembly elections, the TMC emerged victorious as it won an absolute majority of 184 seats in the 294-seat assembly. TMC's major victory also marked the end of the 34-year rule of the Left government. The incumbent Chief Minister at the time, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, was defeated by TMC's Manish Gupta with a margin of over 17000 votes in Jadavpur. In 2016, the Congress won 44 seats, the Left parties won 26 seats while the Trinamool won 211 and the BJP won 3.

2021 West Bengal polls 

West Bengal assembly with 294 seats will go to polls in April-May 2021, Trinamool holds 222 seats. However, BJP has made major inroads in the state in the Lok Sabha elections winning 18 seats, and establishing itself as the major Opposition force in the state. Recently TMC trumped BJP in all 3 bypolls but the BJP is using its booth-level strategy, has deployed its top leaders including Amit Shah and JP Nadda in the state for winning the upcoming elections.

READ: TMC More Dangerous Virus Than COVID-19, BJP Vaccine To Eradicate It, Says WB BJP President Dilip Ghosh