Legislators are unhappy with the state leadership who are pushing for an alliance with the Left Front, say it’s a sinking ship.
New Delhi: Trouble is brewing for the Congress’ West Bengal unit as the party tries to make up its mind about who to ally with for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Sources have told ThePrint that some MLAs, upset with the state leadership for pushing for a tie-up with the Left, are threatening to switch over to the Trinamool Congress if the alliance happens.
An MLA from Farakka, Mainul Haque, has claimed that more than 10 Congress MLAs could switch parties.
ThePrint had reported that the party’s senior leadership in West Bengal, including its unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, want a partnership with the Left because they feel the Trinamool is trying to weaken the Congress by torturing its cadre and threatening its leaders.
But the dissenting MLAs believe that the local leadership is acting out of vested interests, and say the Left is a spent force. They also believe that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is best poised to prevent the BJP from making inroads in the state.
The MLAs are scheduled to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on 6 July, and will take a decision based on its outcome. If the issue is still not resolved, the legislators may join the Trinamool in Kolkata on 21 July.
In the past two years, 11 Congress MLAs have joined the Mamata’s party, blaming the central leadership for ignoring the legislators.
‘State leaders acting out of vested interests’
“We don’t have any problem with Rahul Gandhi or the central leadership,” says Mainul Haque, the Congress secretary and one of the dissenting MLAs. “But we have serious issues with the state leaders who can’t see the reality and are trying to align with the Left for their vested interests.”
The MLA from Farakka confirmed to ThePrint that talks are on with the Trinamool. On 30 June, Haque, during a public meeting in Farakka, had announced that he may join the Trinamool.
“But nothing is clear as of now and we will take a decision on what to do only after meeting Rahul Gandhi and voicing our concerns in Delhi,” he told ThePrint.
Haque, however, agrees with the local leadership’s allegations that the Trinamool has been harassing Congress leaders. “This is true and even I have faced problems with the TMC government, but when the objective is to fight the BJP, who else is in Bengal other than Mamata? We have to forget local issues in the larger interest of the nation.”
Some of the MLAs ThePrint spoke to confirmed that modalities to move to the Trinamool are being worked out.
“At the Centre, our leaders are willing to offer the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman post to the TMC but in the state, they object to an alliance with the TMC,” says Akhruzzaman, the Congress MLA from Raghunathganj. “This dosti at the Centre and kushti in the state won’t work. The Left is a sinking ship and we can’t board it just because the party wants us to do so.”
A majority of the dissenting MLAs, such as Nowda legislator Abu Tahir Khan, are from Murshidabad district, a minority-dominated Congress stronghold. In the 2016 assembly elections, the party won 14 of the district’s 22 seats.
With the BJP trying to gain a foothold in the state, the Congress MLAs are worried about their future as Muslims are gravitating towards the Trinamool, the party in power.
“No one wants to leave the party. But the situation has become worse in Bengal and the central leadership hasn’t paid any attention. Minorities who were with Congress are drifting towards the TMC as we can’t fight for our own cadre,” says Sabina Yeasmin, the MLA from Mothabari, Malda.
Yeasmin, though, is hopeful that the issue will be resolved in the meeting with Rahul Gandhi. “Whatever I have to say, I will say it before him. It’s for him to decide,” she says.
Sources say, on 2 July, after returning from his trip abroad, Rahul Gandhi was apprised of the growing discontent and the next morning he fixed a meeting with all the legislators and senior leaders.