Kolkata, April 5 (IANS) The decision of Nawsad Siddique, the sole representative of the All India Secular Front (AISF) to step back from contesting from the critical Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency at the last moment, has come as a major surprise to many in West Bengal’s political circles.

For quite some time Nawsad Siddique, who is virtually the face of the party in West Bengal, had been vocal about his earnestness to contest against Trinamool Congress General Secretary and sitting Lok Sabha MP from Diamond Harbour, Abhishek Banerjee.

In fact, understanding the fact that Nawsad Siddique contesting from the minority-dominated Diamond Harbour constituency would make Abhishek Banerjee’s battle quite tough, the Congress and CPI(M) had in-principal agreed to back the AISF candidate.

The BJP, too, had been watching the developments in Diamond Harbour closely and had not announced its candidate from the constituency.

However, the sudden decision of the AISF leadership on Thursday to field Majnu Lashkar, a greenhorn in electoral politics, from Diamond Harbour has come as a surprise for many.

Some explanations for not fielding veteran Nawsad Siddique have been floated by the AISF leadership.

The first explanation put forward is that if he stands from Diamond Harbour, he will be restricted to that constituency and will not be able to campaign as the face of the party in the other 13 Lok Sabha constituencies where the AISF has fielded candidates.

The second argument is that the party wants to prepare its field for the 2026 Lok Sabha polls under his leadership and hence it wanted to expand his reach.

However, political observers say that a long-term political equation is behind the AISF’s last moment decision to take Nawsad Siddique out of the contest.

They say that Nawsad Siddique’s constant expression of interest in contesting from Diamond Harbour has created a major hype on how difficult his presence would make it for Abhishek Banerjee to win.

Now in case Nawsad Siddique suffers a defeat, his popularity and his party’s position will receive a jolt. This possibility, political observers say, might have played a role in the AISF taking such a major decision.