‘Delhi should also meet workers fighting in streets’: Adhir fights on, TMC in his sights

The senior Congress leadership believes Chowdhury’s incessant attacks on the TMC, specifically its chief Mamata Banerjee, were one of the main reasons that an electoral pact could not be reached between the two parties in Bengal for the Lok Sabha elections, despite both being part of INDIA.

Congress sources told The Indian Express that with Chowdhury out of the picture, the party would rethink its ties with the TMC.

The party has begun talks with around two dozen leaders from Bengal to choose the new state president. Chowdhury took a swipe at this too in his series of social media posts, including videos. “Delhi should also meet our workers who have been fighting here day and night, hitting the streets with the party flag in hand. One needs to hear their opinion too. They should also be called to Delhi,” Chowdhury said, adding that he could not “compromise with wrongdoing and injustice”.

Sharing videos of his interactions with the media, he indicated he was surprised at the party claiming he had submitted his resignation, with a Congress leader introducing him as “former” state chief at the meeting in Delhi.

“Let me clarify: the moment Mallikarjun Kharge took charge as the party president, everything became temporary. The committees and the state presidents became temporary (since the party president will choose fresh committees and state presidents). This is the party’s constitution,” he said, suggesting that it was only in this context that his position could be held as “temporary”.

On Kharge’s public snub to him during the elections over his anti-Mamata attacks, Chowdhury said: “Before the elections, I had clearly told my party not to keep me in alliance talks with the TMC. The Congress had once helped Mamata Banerjee come to power. In 2009, when Pranab Mukherjee was contesting from Murshidabad, she campaigned for him and I shared the stage… But everything changed after Mamata Banerjee came to power in 2011. From that day, attempts to weaken and destroy us… began. Our MLAs, panchayat members, zilla parishads were snatched… I don’t understand what was wrong in what I said.”

He added: “Like all state presidents, when poll results were bad, I told our leaders to remove me if they wanted. But I was surprised when AICC secretary Mir Saheb described me as a ‘former’ PCC president. I can’t question him. Maybe the party has decided (on a new state president). That’s all good.”

A five-time MP from Baharampur, Chowdhury lost in the recent Lok Sabha polls to the TMC’s cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan. In the last Lok Sabha, Chowdhury was one of the main faces of the Congress as its leader in the House.