New Delhi: The election campaign for the second phase of West Bengal elections ended Tuesday, but the central leadership of the Congress, including party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have not addressed a single rally in the state so far.
This is in sharp contrast to their participation in election campaigns in Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. While Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Kerala on 3-4 April, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra addressed her first rally in the state Tuesday.
Reached for comment on the matter, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, West Bengal Congress president, told ThePrint, “We will let you know once the programme is scheduled.”
But senior Congress leaders said both Rahul and Priyanka have intentionally not campaigned in West Bengal yet. They also said the party’s central leaders would campaign after the fourth phase because by then elections in Kerala, where the Congress is pitted against the Left, will be over. In West Bengal, the Congress has entered into an alliance with the Left.
Votes for the second phase will be cast on 1 April for 30 assembly seats in Bengal and 39 seats in Assam. Assembly elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu will be held on 6 April.
Also read: Congress’ peculiar ally troubles — when friend in one state supports its rival in another
‘Avoiding a situation to attack Mamata’
A senior Congress leader, who didn’t want to be named, said, “So far, the state leadership has been openly criticising CM Mamata Banerjee. The central leadership has a cordial relation with the CM and has so far not criticised her openly and hence they are avoiding a situation where they will have to attack the chief minister directly.”
Another Congress leader told ThePrint that while Rahul Gandhi has already created a “strain in the anti-BJP alliance” by allying with the Left against Banerjee, the party high command is wary of upsetting Mamata beyond a point.
Many opposition parties, including the RJD, the Shiv Sena, the SP and the NCP, have already supported Banerjee, alienating the Congress in the opposition camp.
“Besides, who knows, Mamata may end up becoming a PM-maker in future. Can the Gandhis afford to discount this factor?” said a G-23 leader.
The so-called ‘G-23’ leaders are those who had written a controversial letter to party president Sonia Gandhi in August last year, demanding a “full and active leadership”.
A third senior Congress leader said the party is also much more confident of coming to power in Kerala where Rahul Gandhi has been spending most of his time.
“Our assessment says that even in Assam, we will do much better and which is why both Rahul and Priyanka have campaigned there. As far as West Bengal is concerned, the important phases for us are after the fourth phase, so campaigning at this juncture doesn’t make sense,” said the leader.
‘Not intentional’
Some senior Congress leaders also said the move is not intentional and the media is deliberately trying to play mischief.
“It is not intentional at all. I am quite sure that our leaders, Rahul Gandhi ji, Priyanka Gandhi ji will definitely campaign after phase four as those are the important seats for us. To say our leaders are avoiding West Bengal is not correct at all. We have to follow a line and all is being done as per plans,” said Pradip Bhattacharyya, Congress MP and former Bengal Congress president.
Asked why a majority of the star campaigners for West Bengal have also not been campaigning, Bhattacharyya said the schedules are being worked out.
“Jitin Prasada is one of the star campaigners and he has been campaigning actively. Hari Prasad and B.P. Singh have been campaigning too. I am sure that the state unit has requested senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, too,” he added.
The third Congress leader said that Malda, Murshidabad, central and north Bengal are the key areas where the party has a greater chance of doing well and all these are part of the upcoming phases.
Senior Congress leader and star campaigner Salman Khurshid said, “I’m currently campaigning in Kerala and will head to Assam tomorrow (Wednesday).
“Senior leaders of the party and many of my colleagues have already said publicly that they will go to other states after Holi. At the same time, I want to reiterate that we will not let West Bengal go uncovered. I have already been in West Bengal for a day and plan to campaign in the rest of the phases,” he added.
‘How do we justify alliance with Left’
The second Congress leader quoted above pointed out another reason behind the move.
“We are in an alliance with the Left in West Bengal and we are fighting against them in Kerala. So how do we justify such alliances and what do we tell the people? This is not to say they won’t campaign at all, but by then elections will be over in Kerala,” the leader said.
In a tweet, earlier this month, senior BJP leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar while referring to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s comment that the Congress cannot be trusted in Kerala, had asked how his party CPI(M) has an alliance with the same Congress in West Bengal.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan says that the Congress party can't be trusted in Kerala, but his party CPM has an alliance with the same Congress in West Bengal.
There’s no sanity left with both Left and Congress.
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) March 17, 2021
(Edited by Debalina Dey)
Also read: It’s not only Bengal election, Mamata win will set right tone for secular country: TMC leader
How to justify their allying with the Left? How do they justify allying with Shiv Sena in Maha? But as they say, ‘politics make strange bedfellows’, and Cong will bed-down with anyone to win or stay in power, ideology be damned (some may say, what ideology?)…just opportunism at its worst.
Congress will win in Assam. Paid media won’t work this time.
For Congress seats going to poll after 4 th phase important. What about it aliance partners? Will Congress top leaders not canvass for them? It appears that congress has a tacit understanding with TMC even though it has aligned with Left.
It is more likely that the Congress candidates have requested the dynasty not to campaign in case that leads to loss of the few votes they might get otherwise!
Strategic moves by Congress… but completely, totally and comprehensively irrelevant!!
Is it the real democracy, when political parties fight against each other in one part of the country and join hands and fight shoulder to shoulder from the same side in anther part of the country?
I don’t see much said on this by “experts”, “intellectuals”, “political pundits”, “academics” et al.
Just asking.
Views are personal and neutral
Col KL Viswanahan (Retd): Democracy is a criminal enterprise when there no spirit of service for the nation; it’s masses & native civilization!!
Even America or Europe which won’t die crying for so called freedom & democracy stifle free speech & engage in wild propaganda!! Just analyze content/policies from France 24, Germany DW, America’s CNN or Google/utube/Facebook, one knows there is something really sick & wrong with democracy!!
One may well prefer a mono party rule like China’s which despite all has worked really well for Chinese people & it’s native Han Civilization!! Meanwhile, Indian eco
system is still very much enslaved as during Congress-communist or Christian-Islamic imperialistic rule!!
Oh RC!
Democracy is fine and well! Only that there are some people there who are chronically ill without any clear notion of responsibility that comes with with freedom. Media treats Nation building like proof reading. Concentrating on the syntax and ignoring the semantics.
Congress party will get in total less than or equal to 50 number of seats in all from all the states going to poll . Campaign or No campaign by Sonia ji, Rahul G, Priyanka G . , Vadra G is not going to make any difference in final tally. Then why to leave air-conditioned rooms and wander in heat and dust of hot and humid Indian planes ? Invading Mughals , the looting Britishers and corrupt Congress regimes have passed on to dust bin of history.
@Vikram Arora: SECULAR MK Gandhi was killed, following his support of Islamic Pakistan’s terror funding & Sunni Muslim’s Hindu genocide in West Bengal & elsewhere!!
After he was killed, Congress led by Nehru carried out the most brutal but supposedly SECULAR Genocide Of Hindu Brahmins in Maharashtra & elsewhere!! Nehru/Congress also did everything under the sun to discredit & ban RSS which had always come to the nation’s rescue!
One wonders HOW Rahul & Priyanka Vadra Vinci-Gandhi-Khan.. have not yet met the same fate as the Gaddafi’s & Saddam Hussein!!
Reality Check completely agree with you.Other blunder of Nehru was that pre 1962 when China occupied AKSAICHIN Nehru said not a blade of grass grows there.Also after partition Nehru was not in favour of developing Indian Armed Forces.Also Nehru was not in Sending Indian Armed Forces to Hyderabad it was Sardar Vallabh Patel who undertook operation polo and the Katwas surrendered in twenty three hours including Nizam of Hyderabad.