KMC Opposition Alliance: The Big Challenge

Nov 07, 2026 - By Ashutosh Roy PoliticsElection AnalysisNational PoliticsRegional UpdatesWest Bengal Politics

KMC Opposition Alliance: The Big Battle

Whenever I hear about a possible KMC Opposition Alliance, a fictional screenplay comes to my mind. Let me share this imaginary political drama.

Imagine a massive procession marching from College Square to Esplanade in Kolkata. Crowds of curious onlookers line both sides of the road. Television cameras are busy broadcasting the leaders’ speeches live. Social media platforms are flooded with footage of this historic march.

At the centre of the front row walks Mamata Banerjee. On her left is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, holding her hand. On her right is Mohammed Salim, holding her other hand. Everyone is carrying a white flag, the symbol of peace. After all, Subhankar Sarkar has called unity among the opposition forces. He has also suggested that all the parties may unite under white flag and keep their party flags behind.

Adhir has apparently forgotten how Mamata once attacked him over his daughter’s tragic suicide. He has also forgotten how Congress leaders and workers were allegedly encouraged to switch sides, helping Trinamool expand at Congress’s expense. The political episodes surrounding Jhalda and Bayron Biswas have conveniently disappeared from his memory.

Mohammed Salim, too, has forgotten the alleged atrocities against thousands of Left workers. He has forgotten how many were threatened with police cases and legal harassment, and how political intimidation allegedly forced some to change their political allegiance.

Suddenly, there is commotion towards the rear of the procession. Television cameras swing around. Flashlights go off. Social media goes into overdrive.

It turns out that grassroots Trinamool and Congress workers have started fighting. What began as an argument has escalated into pushing, kicking and shoving. The grand procession of opposition unity is facing its first practical test!

Kunal Ghosh, who is walking in the second row, rushes towards the trouble with his white peace flag. He appeals to everyone to calm down.

“Peace, peace! This is the time to unite. We want to drive the BJP out and establish peace. We must forget these minor differences and work together”, he declares.

A Congress worker, however, is in no mood to listen.

“When I did not receive my share of the Amphan relief money, where were you? When this man demanded Rs 2,000 from me, where was your peace? Now you are asking us to forget everything?” he shouts.

Kunal continues waving his white flag. “Peace, peace! This is not the time to fight among ourselves”.

By now, Subhankar Sarkar has also arrived. The Congress worker looks at him and delivers another salvo.

“You people can divide the cashew nuts among yourselves as much as you like. We have to look after our own interests. When we were being attacked, nobody came to our rescue. Now you want us to stand together!”

News of the commotion reaches Mamata Banerjee. She immediately turns towards a television microphone and declares, “Have you seen it? This is a BJP conspiracy!”

Then, suddenly noticing Adhir beside her, she turns towards him. “And you! You are, after all, a BJP agent!”

As Mamata begins firing political salvos at Adhir, Salim turns towards her and reminds her, “We have been talking about Bijemool for years. This is nothing but a conspiracy of bourgeois forces!”

And that is it. The grand procession of opposition unity comes to an abrupt end.

Disappointed television reporters and YouTube channel crews begin packing up their equipment. The crowds slowly disperse. From somewhere nearby, an enthusiastic spectator suddenly shouts:

“Banglar mati, durjoy ghati!”

Of course, the entire screenplay is fictional. No such procession has taken place. But every time I hear about a possible KMC Opposition Alliance, this imaginary spectacle keeps returning to my mind.

Can Opposition Parties Really Forget Their Past?

A political analyst might reasonably ask: Has India not witnessed coalition politics for decades? Even the present Union Government is a coalition. Why should a similar arrangement be impossible in Kolkata?

That is a fair question, but the comparison needs some context.

The BJP entered the present national coalition arrangement with a substantial electoral mandate of its own. Its alliance partners joined an established political force with a clear leadership structure.

The situation among Bengal’s opposition parties is considerably more complicated.

Following the 2026 Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80 MLAs, against 215 in 2021. Its parliamentary organisation has also experienced a major split. The question is not simply how many legislators remain on paper. The more important question is whether the party has retained the political authority and internal cohesion needed to command the confidence of other opposition forces.

Even among those who continue to stand with Mamata Banerjee, can she be entirely certain that there are no internal disagreements? More importantly, why should Congress and the CPI(M) automatically accept the leadership of a Trinamool Congress that has spent years fighting them in Bengal?

My earlier article on the Kolkata Corporation Election Test discussed the changing political equations ahead of the civic polls. But the question of opposition unity goes much deeper than seat-sharing and candidate selection.

The VP Singh and Jayaprakash Narayan Comparisons

Another argument often comes up. How did V.P. Singh run a coalition government? How did opposition parties come together under Jayaprakash Narayan to challenge Indira Gandhi?

The answer is not particularly complicated. Both examples involved leadership that could bring different political forces together around a common objective.

Jayaprakash Narayan became a rallying point for a broad anti-Indira movement. V.P. Singh emerged as the principal political face of the opposition coalition that challenged Congress in 1989. Their leadership was not merely a matter of individual political ambition. It was accepted as a common platform by parties that had their own differences.

But who would provide that kind of leadership in a proposed KMC Opposition Alliance?

Would Congress accept Mamata Banerjee as the undisputed leader? Would Mohammed Salim and the Left Front accept her leadership? Would Mamata agree to work under someone else? And if the alliance has no agreed leader, who will decide the distribution of seats, select candidates and settle disputes?

These are not minor organisational questions. They are the very foundations of a political alliance.

Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly challenged the fairness of the electoral process and maintained that the verdict does not reflect what she considers the genuine political situation. The wider controversy surrounding Bengal’s electoral administration cannot simply be erased from political memory.

For an alliance to function, its partners must first accept certain political realities. They cannot expect every other party to adopt one leader’s interpretation of events.

Congress: The Natural Ally of the Left?

Among the opposition parties, Congress appears to have the most conventional political space for exploring an understanding with the Left. The two have contested elections together in Bengal in the past. Congress has also entered into an electoral arrangement with Trinamool at different points in its history.

Congress has therefore demonstrated a willingness to explore political partnerships across ideological and organisational boundaries when circumstances demand it.

But the same cannot be said about the possibility of a Left-Trinamool alliance in Bengal. The political rise of Mamata Banerjee was built substantially on her opposition to the Left Front government. For decades, the CPI(M) and Trinamool have fought bitter political battles, often with serious consequences for their grassroots supporters.

Can the Left simply ask its workers to forget that history? Can Trinamool workers be persuaded to accept the same leaders whom they have spent years fighting? And what happens when the first disagreement over a ward-level candidate turns into a confrontation between rival groups?

Political leaders may share a stage in Delhi, issue common statements or participate in protests against the BJP. But a national-level understanding does not automatically translate into an electoral alliance in Bengal.

This distinction has become particularly relevant in the current debate. On November 5, 2026, reports emerged that the CPI(M) had ruled out an electoral understanding with Trinamool for the forthcoming municipal elections while keeping the possibility of negotiations with Congress open. The party’s position makes the distinction between national-level cooperation and Bengal’s local political equations particularly clear.

As reported by The Statesman, the Left leadership has decided against an electoral alliance with Trinamool while retaining the Congress option.

Subhankar Sarkar’s appeal for all anti-BJP forces to come together has therefore exposed an important contradiction. A political appeal for unity is one thing; getting every party to agree on its terms is quite another.

The Grassroots Problem Nobody Wants to Discuss

Most discussions about the KMC Opposition Alliance revolve around senior leaders, seat-sharing arrangements and political calculations. But the real difficulty may lie much further down the organisational ladder.

Imagine a Congress worker who has spent years fighting Trinamool at the local level. He has faced political intimidation, witnessed his colleagues being attacked and perhaps lost his political influence in his own neighbourhood. Now he is told to campaign for a Trinamool candidate in the name of defeating the BJP.

Imagine a Left worker who has fought Trinamool for more than a decade. He is suddenly instructed to share a campaign platform with the very people he holds responsible for the destruction of his local organisation.

What exactly is he supposed to tell his supporters?

And the problem is not restricted to Congress and the Left. Trinamool itself has experienced internal divisions, defections and competing political loyalties. Even if senior leaders agree on a common platform, the agreement may not automatically reach the ward and booth levels.

In municipal elections, these local relationships matter enormously. Candidates are not selected merely to represent a political ideology. They must negotiate neighbourhood equations, local grievances, personal rivalries and the interests of party workers.

With the proposed delimitation increasing the number of KMC wards from 144 to 209, the challenge of distributing seats and managing local political equations has become even more complicated.

The Times of India has reported on the delimitation exercise and the expansion of the civic body’s ward structure.

One cannot build an alliance in television studios and expect it to function automatically in every ward of Kolkata.

National Unity Does Not Guarantee Local Unity

There is another important dimension to this debate. Opposition parties may find common ground at the national level because they share concerns about the BJP-led political establishment. They may participate in joint demonstrations and issue common statements on electoral and constitutional questions.

But local elections are different. They involve direct competition for political territory, local influence and organisational survival.

The contradictions within the INDIA bloc have been discussed in my earlier article, India Alliance Meeting Exposed as Sham. A common platform does not necessarily mean a common political strategy.

My article on Opposition Unity: Can It Defeat Modi? also examined why national opposition cooperation faces organisational and leadership challenges. Those contradictions become even more complicated when translated into Bengal’s local political environment.

The BJP has also indicated that it intends to contest the Kolkata and Howrah civic elections independently rather than depend on electoral partners. The Indian Express reported on the BJP’s decision to go it alone in the municipal contests.

Therefore, opposition parties must decide whether they want to fight the election independently, enter into limited local arrangements or create a broader alliance. These are three different political strategies, and they should not be confused.

A common opposition platform may sound attractive in a press conference. But a workable electoral arrangement requires a clear understanding of leadership, candidate selection, seat distribution and the treatment of grassroots workers.

Why the KMC Opposition Alliance Faces an Uphill Task

My assessment is that a comprehensive KMC Opposition Alliance involving Trinamool, Congress and the Left is extremely difficult to imagine under the present circumstances.

This is not because coalition politics is inherently impossible. Nor is it because political parties cannot change their positions. Political history is full of unexpected alliances and equally unexpected separations.

The problem is that the proposed partners have not resolved their fundamental contradictions.

First, there is the question of leadership. Who will lead the alliance, and will all the partners accept that leadership?

Second, there is the question of political credibility. How will the leaders explain their sudden friendship to workers who have spent years fighting one another?

Third, there is the question of seat-sharing. With 209 proposed wards to contest, every party will have its own organisational interests and candidate ambitions. Which party will surrender its traditional strongholds, and on what basis?

Fourth, there is the question of trust. An alliance cannot survive if its partners continue to suspect one another of political betrayal.

Finally, there is the question of the Trinamool Congress itself. The party’s electoral defeat and internal political developments have changed the calculations. It is no longer enough to assume that its remaining legislative strength automatically translates into undisputed opposition leadership.

Congress may explore an arrangement with the Left. Individual parties may reach local understandings. Even a temporary tactical adjustment cannot be ruled out. But a grand alliance bringing together Mamata Banerjee, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Mohammed Salim under one banner is an entirely different proposition.

For a broader perspective on Bengal’s changing political equations, readers can also explore West Bengal Political Landscape.

Key Takeaways: The Reality Behind Opposition Unity

• Leadership remains unresolved: No common leader has emerged who can command the confidence of Trinamool, Congress and the Left.
• Political history cannot be erased: Years of rivalry and allegations of political violence have created deep mistrust among grassroots workers.
• Congress and the Left have a history of cooperation: Their previous electoral arrangements provide a possible foundation for discussions.
• The Trinamool question is complicated: Its electoral defeat and internal divisions have changed the political calculations.
• National alliances are different: Cooperation against the BJP at the national level does not automatically translate into a Bengal-level electoral understanding.
• Ward-level equations matter: Seat-sharing across 209 proposed KMC wards could become a major source of disagreement.
• Political unity requires trust: A common opponent alone cannot guarantee a sustainable alliance.

Conclusion: A Grand Alliance or Political Daydream?

The idea of a KMC Opposition Alliance may generate headlines, television debates and political excitement. But before celebrating a grand opposition unity, someone should explain how the leaders intend to convince their own workers.

How will a Congress worker forget the political treatment he believes he received from Trinamool? How will a Left worker suddenly develop confidence in a party against which he has fought for years? And how will Mamata Banerjee reconcile her own political ambitions with the demands of an alliance in which she may not have the final say?

These questions deserve answers before anyone starts distributing the seats.

My conclusion is straightforward. A Congress-Left understanding may be politically negotiable, and limited local arrangements between opposition parties are always possible. But a comprehensive Trinamool-Congress-Left alliance for the KMC election appears, at present, to be more of a political daydream than a realistic electoral arrangement.

Perhaps I am being too pessimistic. Political surprises are not uncommon in Bengal. But until the leaders resolve their differences and, more importantly, convince their grassroots workers, I would rather keep my imaginary white-flag procession in the screenplay than expect to see it marching from College Square to Esplanade.

After all, political slogans are easy to manufacture. Political trust is not.