India, Jan. 11 -- West Bengal appears set for an unusual multi-corner Assembly election, a development that could significantly disrupt the state's long-standing electoral pattern, which for the most part has been defined by bipolar contests.

For decades, the state's political arena was dominated by a Congress-Left confrontation. With the rise of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the contest gradually shifted to one between the TMC and the Left. In more recent years, however, West Bengal politics has largely settled into a direct face-off between the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The current electoral scenario, however, suggests a clear departure from this familiar pattern.

The emergence of Humayun Kabir's Janata Unnayan Party (...