With the by-election for the Kaliganj Assembly constituency in Nadia district scheduled for 19 June, political temperatures are on the rise. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has already taken the lead by announcing its candidate—Alifa Ahmed, daughter of late MLA Nasiruddin Ahmed, whose passing necessitated the by-poll. Alifa has already hit the campaign trail, hoping to retain the seat her father had firmly secured in the 2021 elections with over 52 per cent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the Congress has officially entered the race, nominating Kabiluddin Sheikh as its candidate. The announcement was made by party president Mallikarjun Kharge late on Friday night. However, the road to this declaration was anything but smooth.
Initially, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim had indicated that the Left Front would field its own candidate, with the CPI(M) eyeing the Kaliganj seat for the first time in recent memory. This created ripples within the alliance, leading to an intense tussle between Left constituents—mainly the CPI(M) and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).
The RSP laid claim to the seat, citing its electoral history in Kaliganj up to 2011, before the Left-Congress alliance altered seat-sharing arrangements. In both 2016 and 2021, Congress contested the seat on behalf of the alliance. Despite Congress finishing third in the last election with only 12 per cent of the vote, many within the Left Front argued that continuing this seat-sharing formula would help maintain alliance stability ahead of the crucial 2026 state elections.
Also read: TMC leads as Left, Congress, BJP lag on Kaliganj bypoll pick
The Left Front’s internal wrangling came to a head during a 90-minute meeting on Wednesday evening, where no consensus was reached. The RSP even wrote to Left Front chairman Biman Basu, reiterating its desire to field a candidate. Meanwhile, smaller partners in the alliance leaned toward supporting Congress, citing long-term strategic unity.
“Eventually, under pressure from its allies, the CPI(M) stepped back and agreed to back the Congress candidate. This move was seen as a compromise aimed at preserving the alliance, though it revealed ongoing cracks in the front’s coordination,” said a CPI(M) leader.
While TMC and Congress have confirmed their candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains silent. No official announcement has been made, adding another layer of uncertainty to the evolving political contest in Kaliganj.
In the 2021 Assembly polls, TMC’s Nasiruddin had defeated the BJP candidate by a margin of nearly 46,000 votes, with the BJP securing 30 per cent of the vote share. This time, with the sympathy factor in play for the late MLA’s daughter, the ruling party is banking on retaining the seat comfortably.
Kaliganj has a rich political legacy. From 1977 to 2011, it was a stronghold of the RSP. But post-2011, electoral dynamics began to shift. The Congress won the seat in 2016 under the Left-Congress alliance, only to see their winning candidate, Hasanuzzaman Sheikh, later defect to the TMC. Still, the Congress contested again in 2021.
Now, with the Congress back in the ring and the Left agreeing to play second fiddle in Kaliganj, the by-election is shaping into a three-cornered contest—provided the BJP soon throws its hat into the ring.
As campaigns begin and alliances wobble, all eyes are now on Kaliganj, where the by-election may well offer a glimpse into the political alignments leading up to the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
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