LF natural ally of Cong in Bengal, TMC and BJP two sides of same coin: Adhir

Newly appointed Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Thursday that his party is ready to forge an alliance with its "natural ally", the CPI (M)-led Left Front, to put up a "spirited" battle against the TMC and the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Newly appointed Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Thursday that his party is ready to forge an alliance with its "natural ally", the CPI (M)-led Left Front, to put up a "spirited" battle against the TMC and the BJP in the 2021 Assembly elections. Chowdhury, who is known to be a bitter critic of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, said he would soon launch a mass movement against the ruling dispensation in the state.

Contending that "the TMC and the BJP are two sides of the same coin", the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha further said that the fight in 2021 would be primarily between secularism and communalism. "Secular ideals of the Congress will ultimately defeat the communal rhetoric of the BJP and the TMC. The Congress, in alliance with the Left parties, wants to put up a spirited battle against the misrule of the TMC.

"Given the present political situation in the state, the Left Front is a natural ally of the Congress," he said at a press meet, his first after taking over as the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) president. Chowdhury had earlier served as the WBPCC chief from 2014 to 2018. Under his leadership, the party had joined hands with the Left Front and fought the 2016 state elections.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, however, the proposed Congress-CPI(M) alliance fell apart as both the parties were unable to reach an agreement on seat sharing. "Yet again, I have been given the responsibility of the state unit before the Assembly elections. We never wanted to lose political and poll understanding with the CPI(M) and other Left parties. After the last elections, the CPI(M) might have felt that it did not get the desired results by getting into an alliance with the Congress.

"This could be a reason why the Left decided to go it alone in the subsequent elections after 2016. The Congress, however, never thought so," Chowdhury said. The senior Congress leader said he would strive hard to strengthen the organisation in the state.

"Once the coronavirus crisis is over, the Congress will resume its fight against the misrule of the TMC government in West Bengal," the five-time Lok Sabha MP said. He urged defectors, who have joined opposition camps, to return to the party.

"I call upon them to return to the grand old party. We will give them their due respect," Chowdhury said. Asked whether there is a chance of a Congress-TMC tie-up in the near future, he said, "The CPI(M) is our natural ally as both of us are victims of political violence." According to state Congress sources, Chowdhury's appointment as WBPCC chief reflects the mindset of the party high command, which is not ready to yield its political ground to the TMC, despite taking them along at the national level during the anti-BJP campaign.

"The party high command is very well aware how the TMC has politically sidelined the Congress in Bengal. So the decision to appoint Chowdhury clearly sends out a message there won't be any alliance with the TMC in the state," a senior Congress leader here explained. Welcoming Chowdhury's statement, the CPI (M) said all secular and democratic forces should unite against the TMC and the BJP in the state.

"We welcome Adhir Chowdhury's statement. We are confident that his appointment would further strengthen our alliance. The unity of the Congress and the Left is the need of the hour to protect the secular fabric of the state," CPI (M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said.