Baharampur (WB), May 8 (PTI) Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday blamed West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the opposition INDIA bloc failing to take shape in the state.
Stating that the TMC had wanted a seat-sharing arrangement in Bengal so that the INDIA partners could fight together, Banerjee asked why the Congress went with the CPI(M), who was its sworn enemy in the state for a long time and blamed Chowdhury for the tie-up.
“Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the only reason for the INDIA alliance not taking shape in Bengal,” he said after holding a roadshow here in support of TMC candidate from Baharampur, Yusuf Pathan, who is contesting against the Congress leader.
The CPI(M) in Bengal had clarified, since the formation of the opposition alliance, that it will fight against both the BJP and the TMC in the state.
Banerjee claimed that when the central leadership of Congress – Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge – were attending INDIA bloc meetings with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee at various places in the country, Chowdury would hold press conferences attacking the West Bengal chief minister.
“The day Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi said, with Mamata Banerjee sitting by their side, that we will fight together to defeat BJP, Adhir Chowdhury held hands of (Bengal CPI(M) secretary) Mohammad Salim and called for defeating the Trinamool Congress,” Banerjee said.
He said that the TMC had wanted other anti-BJP entities to support the party in a seat where it is strong, but this failed to fructify in the state because of Chowdhury.
“We are fighting directly against BJP in the 42 constituencies in West Bengal, but in Baharampur, we are fighting the BJP as also its dummy candidate,” he said, in a jibe at Congress candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is contesting to win for the sixth consecutive term from the seat.
Banerjee accused the sitting Congress MP of Baharampur of not protesting when the people of Bengal were subjected to harassment by the central government which denied them funds for the 100-day job guarantee scheme, housing scheme and road construction.
“Neither Adhir Chowdhury nor any leader of the CPI(M) raised their voice in protest. Instead, they strengthened the BJP by attacking Mamata Banerjee,” the TMC leader said.
Maintaining that the people of Malda and Murshidabad had stopped the march of BJP in the 2021 assembly elections in the state, Abhishek Banerjee claimed that it would happen again this time.
He claimed that the TMC will win all four seats that went to polls on Tuesday in the third phase in West Bengal – Jangipur, Murshidabad, Maldaha Dakshin and Maldaha Uttar.
TMC candidate Pathan is pitted against Congress heavyweight Chowdhury and BJP’s Nirmal Kumar Saha in Baharampur.
Polling in Baharampur is scheduled to be held on May 13 in the fourth of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal. PTI AMR NN
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