4 The symbolism of Nandigram will keep the Left Front under pressure

The deaths of 14 people in police firing during a 2007 anti land-acquisition struggle in Nandigram will continue to be the nemesis of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front (LF) which ruled West Bengal from 1977 to 2011. While the LF is an emaciated self of what it used to be even a decade ago – its vote share fell sharply from 39.7% in the 2011 elections to just 7.5% in the 2019 general polls – its performance could matter a lot in what is expected to be a very close contest between the AITC and the BJP. The AITC even appealed to the LF and the Congress to support it against the BJP a few days ago . With the pre-poll alliance of the LF and the Congress making the polls a three-way contest, Banerjee’s Nandigram candidature will also keep the narrative of the LF’S anti-peasant past alive, preventing any damage to the AITC’S voter base. Source: TCPD, Census of India 2011; Abhishek Jha and Vijdan

Mohammad Kawoosa contributed to data analysis for this stor