Bengal Congress protests Sonia-Mamata alliance ahead of polls

The West Bengal unit of the Congress Party has reacted sharply to the emerging camaraderie between Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Party, and Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal and head of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), at a gathering of opposition leaders in Bengaluru. The gathering aimed to create a unified front against the ruling Narendra Modi-led NDA for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Members of the Bengal Congress, led by Pradesh Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, have openly voiced their disapproval of any collaboration with the TMC. According to them, the TMC is allegedly responsible for the persecution and murder of their members.
Congress spokesperson and lawyer, Koustav Bagchi, expressed his discontent with the potential alliance, arguing that it wouldn’t be tolerated by the party workers who are enduring maltreatment at the hands of Banerjee’s government. Suman Ray Chaudhuri, another party spokesperson and secretary of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, questioned the party’s sensitivity towards the families of slain party workers in a recent tweet.
The controversy further stirred up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the budding understanding between the TMC and other opposition parties, alluding to the silence of the Congress leaders about the mistreatment of their own workers in Bengal.
The Bengal Congress feels sidelined by the central command and is of the opinion that their rapport with the TMC poses a serious risk to the party’s survival in the state. The party, which has suffered numerous electoral losses and defections to the TMC, is perturbed about the recent meeting between Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mamata Banerjee discussing the forthcoming presidential polls.
Senior Congress leaders from Bengal worry that any alliance with the TMC could lead to the party’s demise in the state. Adhir Chowdhury, Bengal Congress President, has reportedly urged Sonia Gandhi to prevent national politics from affecting the party’s chances in West Bengal.