Indian Secular Front
AbbreviationISF
PresidentSimul Soren
ChairpersonNawsad Siddique
FounderAbbas Siddiqui
Founded21 January 2021 (3 years ago) (2021-01-21)
IdeologyMinority rights
ECI StatusUnrecognised
AllianceSanjukta Morcha (2021)
Seats in West Bengal Legislative Assembly
1 / 294
Election symbol
Party flag

The Indian Secular Front (abbreviation: ISF) is an Indian political party formed in West Bengal by Abbas Siddiqui, an influential cleric of the shrine of Furfura Sharif in Hooghly district.[1]

History

This party was formed ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election of 2021[2] and joined the Sanjukta Morcha,[3] led by the Left Front and the Indian National Congress[3] against the Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.[4] The party contested the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election in 38 seats and won in 1 seat.[5] The party fought the election under the borrowed symbol of Rashtriya Secular Majlis Party, a Bihar-based political party. After the election, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the head of West Bengal Congress, declared an end to the alliance with Indian Secular Front.[6]

Ideology

Despite claiming to be 'secular', the party has been described as 'communal' by political analyst Prasenjit Bose.[7]

Electoral performance

For the 2021 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the ISF allied with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Indian National Congress in an alliance named Sanjukta Morcha. Nawsad Siddique is the only MLA from the party.

Election Year Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats Percentage of votes Vote swing Popular vote Result
2021 Nawsad Siddique[8] 32[9] 1 Increase 1 1.35% N/A 813,489 Minority

See also

References

  1. ^ "Want To Be Kingmaker": Muslim Preacher Announces Party For Bengal Polls". 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ Wire.in, The (28 February 2021). "Bengal: As Left and Congress Ally With Muslim Cleric's Party, Will BJP Be the Winner?".
  3. ^ a b India, Outlook (28 February 2021). "With Brigade Rally, Left-Congress-ISF's 'Sanyukta Morcha' Kicks Of Bengal Poll Campaign". Outlook.India.
  4. ^ "West Bengal: In Left-Congress Brigade Ground Rally, ISF Emerged as the Biggest Mobiliser". The Wire. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. ^ "30-seat deal with Left: ISF cleric Abbas Siddiqui". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury does not want ISF as an ally in future - Times of India". The Times of India. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  7. ^ George, Varghese K. (27 March 2021). "Abbas Siddiqui | Perilous pursuits". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  8. ^ "ISF to fight polls on borrowed symbol". Millennium Post. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  9. ^ "West Bengal General Legislative Election 2021". Election Commission of India. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
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