Expressing hope that political understanding with Left parties will fructify into an electoral alliance, newly appointed president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday pledged to give a tough fight to the Trinamool Congress in the 2021 Assembly polls.
Addressing a press conference at the State Congress headquarters, a day after he was appointed the WBPCC chief, Mr. Chowdhury urged party workers to launch a fight against the “totalitarian regime” of the Trinamool Congress as soon as the pandemic showed signs of easing.
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The five-time Congress MP from Berhampur in Murshidabad, who is also the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, was appointed after WBPCC post fell vacant following the death of Somendranath Mitra in July.
Mr. Chowdhury, who has served as the president of WBPCC from 2014 to 2018, also urged Congress leaders, who have joined other parties like the Trinamool and BJP, to return.
“I appeal to all those who have left Congress to return. The party will try to give them the respect they deserve,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
The Congress leader, who is known to have played a key role in forging the Left-Congress electoral understanding in 2016 Assembly polls and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, said he is hopeful that the “political understanding with the Left will turn into electoral alliance ahead of 2021 Assembly polls”.
“The Bengal Congress has not changed its stand as far as the understanding with the Left is concerned. It was the leadership of the Left who felt they should go alone, but our stand of alliance with the remains the same,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
After the 2016 Assembly poll debacle, a section of the leadership of the Left parties felt that the Congress supporters did not vote for them while the Left supporters voted in favour of Congress candidates. The Left parties won fewer seats than Congress even though they contested on almost twice the seats where Congress fielded its candidates.
The Left-Congress alliance could not be forged also on some seats in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, post 2019, the Left and Congress have held political programmes together giving ample hints of a tie up in 2021 Assembly poll. The appointment of Mr. Chowdhury, one of the vocal critics of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as WBPCC president is an indication that there will be no adjustment between Congress and TMC, and the Left and Congress are likely to come together in 2021.
