New Delhi

The Indian National Congress on Thursday announced that it will contest all 294 Assembly constituencies in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, ruling out any alliance with the Left Front.

Speaking to reporters after a Congress meeting on the upcoming elections, West Bengal Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir said party leaders deliberated extensively on the road ahead and reached a consensus on contesting independently.

“A meeting was held today in which all leaders were present. Discussions were held on how to approach the West Bengal elections and how to move forward. Everyone expressed their views, and after hearing all opinions, the leadership felt that this time the Congress will contest the elections in West Bengal on its own,” Mir said.

He further stressed that the decision had the backing of the party’s central leadership. “Our workers and cadre in West Bengal want the party to contest independently on all 294 seats. The national leadership fully supports the decision taken by the state leadership,” he added.

The Congress announcement comes amid intensifying political activity in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is expected to face a triangular contest involving the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Meanwhile, the BJP has stepped up its preparations for the 2026 polls. Party National President Nitin Nabin on Tuesday held an organisational meeting with BJP MPs from West Bengal at the residence of Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar in New Delhi, focusing on constituency-specific and organisational issues.

After the meeting, BJP MP Raju Bista said the party president provided guidance and addressed concerns raised by the MPs. “All MPs from West Bengal, including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members as well as first-time MPs, participated in the meeting. We spent over two hours discussing organisational matters. It was our first meeting with the National President, and we received valuable suggestions and guidance,” Bista said.

Calling the interaction constructive, he added that the meeting was held in a “family-like atmosphere” where MPs presented issues related to their respective constituencies.

Earlier last month, BJP West Bengal State President Samik Bhattacharya appointed in-charges for all 294 Assembly constituencies as part of the party’s election preparations. The party named Manash Ray as the in-charge for Nandigram, where Suvendu Adhikari defeated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Other key appointments include Debasish Dey for Siliguri, Binod Moktan for Darjeeling, Sujit Kr Das for Malda, Kaberi Chatterjee for Asansol Dakshin, Dayamoy Chakraborty for Asansol Uttar, and Asish Travedi for the Kolkata Port constituency.

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On January 24, the BJP also constituted the State Sankalp Patra Committee for West Bengal, comprising 11 members, with party leader Tapas Roy appointed as its Chairman.