The Congress is weighing its options ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections and may choose to contest the polls on its own, with no alliance talks held so far with the Left parties, party sources said on Thursday.

Sources said several leaders in the state unit are pushing for the party to go solo, arguing that the Congress has been weakened after contesting elections largely through alliances for decades. They believe the party has lost ground in many areas by not contesting independently for long periods.

There is still no clear stand from the party leadership, even as the Trinamool Congress and the BJP have already stepped up their campaign in the state. However, sources indicated that the Congress is increasingly inclined to fight the upcoming elections on its own.

In the last Assembly polls, the Left-Congress-Indian Secular Front (ISF) alliance performed poorly, managing to win just one seat. The BJP emerged as the principal opposition in a state that was once dominated by the Left and the Congress.

Party sources said a section of the Bengal unit feels the Congress cannot revive itself while remaining in alliances and risks being wiped out in regions it has not contested independently for years. They argue that the upcoming Assembly elections, expected to be held in March-April, should be used to rebuild the party’s organisational base across the state.

The issue of alliances has also drawn political criticism, with the BJP repeatedly targeting the Congress for partnering with the Left in Bengal while opposing them in Kerala, where the Left and the Congress-led UDF remain the main rivals for power. Kerala is also scheduled to go to the polls in the first half of this year.

Earlier this month, the Congress appointed senior leader B K Hariprasad as chairperson of its screening committee for West Bengal.

The political climate in the state remains tense amid allegations and counter-allegations between the BJP and the ruling Trinamool Congress over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and Enforcement Directorate searches at I-PAC premises.

A final call on the Congress’s poll strategy in West Bengal is expected to be taken by the party leadership in the coming days.