When firebrand Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha, Team INDIA — the newly minted opposition bloc — rose up in protest. Among the others, Trinamool Congress was also vocal in its support for Chowdhury despite the Congress leader’s strong opposition to TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
While visuals of TMC warming up to Chowdhury may have brought much-needed relief for the Congress top brass, the party’s state leadership seems to be upset with the newfound camaraderie.
Congress spokesperson Kasustav Bagchi took to social media to say: “We don’t want to be a guinea pig in the hands of Delhi. We always considered TMC a thief that has destroyed democracy. We will continue believing that.”
Speaking to News18, Bagchi added that “come what may, we will not accept any adjustment with TMC in Bengal because their hands have our workers’ blood. Why will we adjust”?
During the last Parliament session, the relationship between Congress and TMC in Bengal became a weapon for BJP, with leaders such as Locket Chatterjee and Smriti Irani mocking Chowdhury on the dynamics.
There is also buzz in political circles that TMC might leave the Baharampur seat for Congress and this has irked local leaders.
As per political experts, the panchayat election in Bengal has clearly shown the war between Congress and TMC in Murshidabad and Maldah and attempts to forge a bond in the state will send a bad message to workers of both parties.
Sources said the Congress cadre is unhappy with TMC’s Sushmita Dev and Chowdhury sitting side by side on their way to Manipur. On the other hand, the workers of TMC too are unhappy with attempts to reach out to Congress.
Earlier, Banerjee had proposed that parties must field candidates depending on their strength in a particular area to take on the BJP. If this formula is followed, Bengal Congress has no representatives in assembly and hence, there will be no scope for any adjustment, said a senior TMC leader.
For Congress, however, it’s a matter of survival in Bengal and in case of an “adjustment” with TMC, it will be difficult to convince their workers.
The next meeting of the INDIA bloc will give a clear picture on the adjustment between the two parties and if the Congress high command gives in to the advice and wishes of its cadre.
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