The West Bengal wing of the Congress seems to be in dire straits. As the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership aligns with the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Congress leaders in Parliament and outside the state are trying to unite the opposition against the BJP. The CPI(M), meanwhile, has maintained its staunch opposition to the TMC.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram arrived in Kolkata on Thursday to meet TMC chief and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat in Nabanna.
TMC sources said the two leaders discussed how the two major opposition parties, Congress and TMC, can coordinate their moves and strategies to face the ruling BJP-led NDA government in the upcoming parliamentary session.
The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha is scheduled to begin on June 24. Apart from the Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M) are the main constituents of the opposition Indian Alliance at the national level.
Meanwhile, the Bengal Congress’ extended state committee reviewed the party’s debacle in the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections, in which it fought against both the TMC and the BJP, while forging an alliance with the Left.
Also, compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, although the Congress managed to increase its vote share marginally, its number of seats fell from two to one in 2019.
Sources said that majority of the leaders who attended the meeting said that they should contest the elections in the state against not only the BJP but also the TMC. They also said that while an alliance with the Left could increase the party’s vote share, it would not pay off in the long run.
A senior Congress leader said, “We are not saying that we should fight against the CPI(M) as well, but at least we should not form an alliance with the CPI(M) or the LF. It will not benefit the Congress in the long run. We must understand that a significant number of people in the state have not been able to accept the Left Front till date because of its 34-year rule. Why should we carry their burden of 34 years? It hurts us.”
However, all state Congress leaders, including “interim” West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president Adhir Chaudhary, who was the party’s leader in the previous Lok Sabha, decided to remain silent on the issue in public.
His influence declined after his defeat by Yusuf Pathan.
Senior Trinamool Congress leader and state minister Firhad Hakim said, “We too were once in the Congress and fought with the CPI(M). Mamata Banerjee broke away from the Congress and formed the TMC to fight alone.
The Congress lost its legitimacy in the state as people believed that Mamata Banerjee would lead the anti-CPI(M) movement more than the Congress in those days. Now, after their alliance with CPI(M), Bengal has lost faith in Congress. To restore that trust, they must unconditionally join hands with Mamata Banerjee. Only then can the Congress be restored in this state,” he said.
In response to this, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “What the Congress does will be decided by its leaders in the state and at the centre. We have nothing to say.”
BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, “Congress has become a ‘signature party’ in the state. There is no chance for that here,” he said.
