Left-Congress’ Brigade rally may be rescheduled to early February

Will the rally of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground this year be rescheduled to early February? That is what leaders of the Congress and Left parties have been discussing in the context of the Assembly election 2021 schedule.

Congress and the Left parties will contest the Assembly elections in West Bengal through an alliance, and currently the leaders are finalising the seat allotment and other details, which will get a final stamp of approval from all sides in some time. During discussion, several leaders spoke about a joint rally at the Brigade Parade Ground this year, ahead of the Assembly elections.

Sources said that several leaders feel that election dates may be announced mid-February and as such they feel the Brigade rally schedule may have to be changed.

Every year, the end of winter marks the annual rally of the CPI(M) in Kolkata’s Brigade and that’s exactly what had been planned this year too. As per the earlier schedule, the rally would have been held the last Sunday of February 2021. But going by the activities of the Election Commission of India (ECI), leaders of the Left parties and Congress feel that election may be announced early this time. If that happens, it would be difficult to organise the Brigade meeting after the announcement because most parties concentrate on campaigning spread across the state after that. Since the Brigade meeting requires a lot of planning and energy, the top leaders of the Congress and CPI(M) are of the opinion that rescheduling the rally would be best. Sources said that the rally may be scheduled in the first or second week of February. Once that is over, leaders will be able to focus more on the election campaign spread across the state.

Usually, Assembly election dates are announced in early March. However, there are indications that the ECI may want to complete the election process by April. If that is the case, announcing election dates early is a possibility. If things go along these lines, a joint rally by the Congress and the Left parties may be held on February 7 or 14 at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.