Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has stepped down as president of the West Bengal Congress committee, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal said on Tuesday morning.
Chowdhury resigned after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge met senior functionaries from West Bengal in Delhi on Monday to select the next state president.
Chowdhury, who won Murshidabad district’s s seat five times since 1999, was defeated in the recent Lok Sabha election by former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan fielded by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee.
AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal had earlier asked senior state leaders to convey their opinions on the leadership issue through mails or text messages.
Chowdhury, former state presidents Pradip Bhattacharya and Abdul Mannan, senior leaders Deepa Dasmunsi, Amitabha Chakraborty, Nepal Mahato, Manoj Chakraborty and Isha Khan Choudhury, the party’s sole Lok Sabha member from Bengal who won the Malda South seat in the recent polls, were asked to be present in the meeting.
Dasmunsi is also an AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Lakshadweep and Telengana while Mannan could not attend due to illness.
{{/usCountry}}Dasmunsi is also an AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala, Lakshadweep and Telengana while Mannan could not attend due to illness.
{{/usCountry}}The party will soon announce the name of the next Bengal unit president, state Congress leaders said.