It is alleged that without any consultation with the lower-level workers, an alliance was imposed between Left and Congress. Complaints about this had been simmering within the state Congress even before the elections. After the disastrous election results, these complaints have come out in the open.
During the review meeting of the state Congress at the Moulali Youth Centre today, district and branch leaders vented their anger about the alliance. Congress state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has always been in favour of an alliance with the CPM. It is alleged that even during the Lok Sabha election, he formed an alliance with the Left parties unilaterally, thinking only of north Bengal and his own district. The concerns of south Bengal were ignored, and the voices of district presidents were not heard. At the state Congress review meeting, block and district leaders expressed their anger about this to the Congress central observer, Ghulam Ahmed Mir. They claimed that there was significant discontent among grassroots workers regarding the alliance with the CPM. This decision was imposed without any consultation. Regarding the alliance with the CPM, Adhir calmly defended himself, saying, “You cannot blame just one person like this. You are only thinking about the state. I had to consider the whole country. Given how Trinamul was attacking Congress, opposing Trinamul seemed like my duty.”
At the review meeting of the state Congress, two main proposals were passed. The first was to propose Rahul Gandhi as the Leader of Opposition, presented by the state’s only MP Isha Khan Chowdhury, who was also honoured on this occasion. The second proposal, which is significant, was for changes in the state Congress leadership, presented by prominent state Congress figure Abdus Sattar. The way district and branch leaders expressed their anger over Adhir’s decisions at the meeting suggests that Adhir might lose his position in the future, according to his close associates.
Adhir showed his strength in response. In a somewhat resigned tone, he said, “I am only an interim president. Khargeji asked me to continue, so I am continuing. I have informed Sonia and Rahul Gandhi about this.” Most of those invited to the meeting did not want a change in the state presidency. As soon as the proposal to change the state leadership was raised, Adhir’s supporters began chanting his name in unison. Sources indicate that Isha Khan Chowdhury and Pradip Bhattacharya are being considered for the position of state president. The enthusiasm surrounding Isha at the meeting was noticeable.
Central observer Mir listened attentively to the complaints of the dissident faction and will remain in Kolkata for the next two days to hear more grievances from party workers. Interestingly, the shadow of factionalism was evident even at this review meeting. Veteran leader Abdul Mannan was absent, and Kolkata councillor Santosh Pathak and influential state Congress figure Amitabh Chakraborty were not invited. According to Adhir’s supporters, their presence could have led to trouble at the meeting.