Written by Shantanu Chowdhury | Kolkata |
Updated: September 10, 2020 10:49:33 pm
The newly appointed President of the Congress of West Bengal Pradesh, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (right), together with the MLA of Congress and the leader of the opposition in the Bengal Assembly, Abdul Mannan, at a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday. (Express photo: Partha Paul)
The head of Congress, Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday (September 9) appointed the party leader in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the new chairman of the West Bengal Pradesh Congressional Committee (WBPCC).
The appointment came more than a month after former state party chief Somen Mitra passed away on July 30. Chowdhury’s appointment takes on significance ahead of the 2021 State Assembly elections in Bengal.
A veteran leader
Chowdhury is one of two Congressional leaders to win from West Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, as the party as a whole performed disastrously across the country.
He is a five-time deputy for Berhampore in Murshidabad district and a former member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The 64-year-old leader previously served as president of the WBPCC between February 2014 and September 2018.
In Parliament, in addition to being the leader of Congress in the Lower House, Chowdhury is chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. He previously served as Minister of State (MoS) for Railways in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s UPA-2 government from October 2012 to May 2014.
Popular, firebrand
Chowdhury is now the most popular congressional leader in Bengal. He is also a strong critic of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her policies. Despite the fact that Congress has been reduced to a fringe player in the state, Chowdhury has managed to protect his citadel in Berhampore.
A passionate leader, Chowdhury has never shied away from expressing his views and opinions fearlessly, inviting criticism from a section of party leaders.
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Chowdhury was instrumental in forging an electoral understanding with the Left Front in West Bengal ahead of the 2016 Bengal Assembly elections. Although the Trinamool Congress retained power in the state, Congress managed to win 44 seats under his leadership and became the main opposition in the state.
Some recent setbacks
However, after the Assembly elections, several MLAs from Congress defected to the ruling TMC, raising questions about Chowdhury’s leadership qualities. He was criticized for not being able to retain these MLAs.
Currently, the Congress has 24 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly. While 17 of his MLA defected to the TMC, one joined the BJP after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In 2018, Chowdhury was replaced by veteran party leader Somen Mitra. However, this appointment failed to turn the tide in favor of Congress, as more party workers and local leaders continued to defect from the TMC.
Despite his best efforts, Mitra failed to forge an electoral alliance with the Left Front before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. As a result, the party was only able to win two state seats and received a meager 5.67 percent. of the votes, 4.03 percentage points less than what he had obtained in the general elections of 2014.
Current situation
Heading into next year’s Assembly elections, the party needs a strong and popular leader to revitalize its organization. Chowdhury is the perfect fit – he has shown the ability to push the party ranks ahead of the election.
Politically, Chowdhury’s appointment indicates that the leadership of Congress is inclined to seek an understanding with the Left Front for the 2021 elections. Chowdhury has always advocated an alliance with the left rather than with Trinamool.
However, it will be a daunting task for Chowdhury to manage his roles as the leader of Congress in Lok Sabha and head of the Bengal Congress. As the Assembly elections approach, he will have to spend more time in the state than in the national capital.
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It is clear from Chowdhury’s stance against the TMC government that an alliance between the two parties would not be possible as long as he is at the helm of the Bengal Congress unit. The ruling party, facing a powerful challenge from the BJP, will have to go to the polls alone if Congress and the Left Front forge an alliance.
Meanwhile, the BJP will have its own concerns. A Congress-Left alliance will mean a three-way struggle in the elections, a situation that does not favor the saffron field. The BJP will benefit from a vote split, which was a contributing factor to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, in which the party won 18 seats.
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