It expressed regret at the death of several hundred people in violent protests in the neighbouring nation.

Once considered a fortress of the Left Front partner Forward Bloc which won the seat for an unbroken 32 years from 1977 to 2009, Cooch Behar constituency currently remains a BJP stronghold, with five of the seven assembly segments in its kitty despite Trinamool Congress’s landslide victory in the 2021 state polls.

CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim recently left for New Delhi to meet senior Congress leaders to finalise the agreement. The Left, Congress, and ISF had contested the Assembly polls together in 2021.