Bengal Congress divided over alliance with TMC

Fissures seem to have appeared in the West Bengal unit of the Congress over the issue of forging an alliance with the TMC for the crucial 2019 polls, with a section of leaders keen on the tie-up and the state leadership rejecting the idea.

The Congress, which lost its political ground to the TMC and the BJP to an extent, has been fighting hard under the leadership of state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury to make its presence felt in parts of West Bengal.

Marred with the exodus of its elected representatives to the TMC, the party now seems to be in a fix over the issue of aligning with TMC to stop BJP's march in the state.

A section of MPs and MLAs feel that aligning with the TMC would be the best way to win the maximum number of seats in 2019.

State president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and other leaders of the party, however, feel aligning with the TMC in Bengal will amount to "committing suicide" for the Congress in the state.

Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury, Congress MP from Malda South and the brother of former Congress stalwart Ghani Khan Chowdhury, along with MLA Maniul Haque, had met TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee at his residence last Thursday, the day BJP president Amit Shah held a rally in Purulia.

Khan Chowdhury had said he held talks with Chatterjee on the possibilities of forming a grand alliance in the state.

"I had come to discuss whether a grand alliance could be formed in our state, on the lines of the (proposed) central model, to combat the BJP in Bengal. I will submit my report to the party high command." he added.

His move had raised several eyebrows in the state Congress leadership, who were not eager to warm up to the idea of forming any alliance with the ruling party.

When contacted, Maniul Haque, the Congress MLA from Farraka, who had accompanied Khan Chowdhury to Partha Chatterjee's residence, said he plans to join the Mamata Banerjee party as it has better prospects in the election.

"I have decided to join the TMC as it is the only party that can fight against the BJP in the state and at the national level. The Congress alone can't put up a fight against the BJP."
When asked to comment on the entire episode, Adhir Chowdhury told PTI, "It is for Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury to come out clean as to why he went to meet the TMC leaders. He is a senior MP."