The CPM has expressed confidence about reclaiming political ground in Bengal, asserting that the ruling Trinamool Congress is rapidly losing its grip and creating space for the Left to emerge as the principal opposition force against the BJP in the state.
Claiming that the Trinamool Congress is "melting down faster than ice" in the summer heat, CPM Bengal general secretary Mohammed Salim said the Left parties are preparing to fill the opposition vacuum in the state.
"And now, since the Trinamool Congress is melting faster than ice in this heat, it is our task now not only theoretically but also practically to be the primary opposition to the BJP in Bengal," Salim said.
The CPM leader asserted that the Left parties, especially the CPM, remain at the "forefront" of the ideological fight against the RSS and BJP in Bengal.
"It is difficult but not impossible to retrieve the Left ecosystem in Bengal and to be at the forefront of the people's struggles for their democratic and constitutional rights," he told PTI in an interview.
Salim claimed that public sentiment was gradually shifting in favour of the CPM-led Left Front as dissatisfaction with the TMC grows.
"More than a decade-and-a-half of TMC's terror tactics, utilising police and goons, created a void where the TMC made conditions hospitable for the RSS to thrive in the hinterland," he said.
The CPM has repeatedly accused both the TMC and the BJP of fostering a political binary centred around religion to marginalise the Left and other opposition forces in the state.
Maintaining that the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC has weakened following its performance in the recently held assembly elections, Salim said the Left would step in to occupy the opposition space.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had ended the Left Front’s uninterrupted 34-year rule in 2011, riding on anti-land acquisition movements in Singur and Nandigram.
Interestingly, industrialisation, infrastructure development and job creation have emerged as major campaign themes for both the Left and the BJP ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, alongside issues such as law and order, women's safety, alleged 'syndicate raj' and extortion.
Salim said Left parties and trade unions have already raised concerns over the displacement of hawkers evicted from several areas since the BJP assumed power in the state.
He accused the BJP government of targeting the livelihoods of economically weaker sections.
The CPM leader also said the party would continue to fight for minority safety, communal harmony and the preservation of Bengal’s cultural fabric.
The CPM-led Left Front, which governed Bengal from 1977 to 2011, managed to end its electoral dry spell in the latest assembly elections by winning one seat — Domkal in Murshidabad district.
Despite securing only 4.45 per cent of the vote share in the recent elections, according to Election Commission data, the CPM has maintained that it remains politically relevant in the state.
Other Left Front constituents failed to secure even one per cent of the vote share, while alliance partner AISF retained the Bhangar constituency. The Congress, which contested separately across all 294 seats, won two constituencies.
The Left Front had secured a 39 per cent vote share in 2011, with the CPM alone accounting for 30 per cent. In the 2021 assembly elections, however, the CPM’s vote share had dropped sharply to 4.73 per cent.