Kolkata: In the run-up to the upcoming Assembly polls, Congress leader Abdul Mannan wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress seeking permission to form an alliance with Furfura Serif cleric Abbas Siddiqui’s newly floated political party Indian Secular Front.
In the letter, leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Abdul Mannan pointed out that minority voters have shifted away from the Congress which was evident from the last parliamentary election 2019.
The letter also had a mention that Congress has been uprooted from all Muslim-dominated assembly constituencies’ including districts such as Malda, Murshidabad and Uttar Dinajpur, once considered to be the Congress citadel.
Mentioning that the Bengali speaking Muslim population is the traditional votebank of Congress, Mannan highlighted that alliance with Indian Secular Front is needed as it is a direct threat to all ‘secular parties’. ISF is targeting the Muslims, Dalits, Tribals and all the underprivileged sections of the society, he noted.
Urging the consent of the Congress high command, Mannan claimed that inclusion of Indian Secular Front in the Congress-Left alliance will be game-changer in the upcoming polls, scheduled in a couple of months.
Notably, Abbas Siddiqui had been vocal against the ruling Trinamool Congress claiming that the chief minister Mamata Banerjee had done nothing for the Muslims of West Bengal.
Incidentally, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has claimed that Abbas Siddiqui will be integral to his party’s plans in the Assembly elections.
According to poll analysts, the inclusion of Indian Secular Front with the Left-Congress alliance can give a though competition to both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP.
“Siddiqui has been extremely popular amongst the Muslims, Dalits and Tribals. A section of voters will vote for the Indian Secular Front and few traditional voters will vote for the Left Front and the Congress. So merger of these three political parties can be a game changer as it will cut many votes of both ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP,” stated the poll analysts.
