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Rahul Gandhi, Kharge to meet Bengal Congress leaders to select state president
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal had earlier asked senior state leaders to convey their opinions on the leadership issue through e-mail or text messages
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge will meet a number of senior functionaries from West Bengal in Delhi on Monday to select the next state president since Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s tenure has ended, state leaders said.
Those summoned to Delhi include 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.
Mannan has informed the party that he will not be able to attend Monday’s meeting due to health issues.
Chowdhury, who won Murshidabad district’s Berhampore Lok Sabha seat five times since 1999, was defeated by former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan, fielded by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee.
Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal had earlier asked senior state leaders to convey their opinions on the leadership issue through e-mail or text messages.
“We had all expressed our opinions. I don’t know whether the top leaders want to meet us individually or collectively,” Pradip Bhattacharya said.
The Congress top brass has called the meeting at a time when the West Bengal Congress unit is going through its worst phase since Independence. The party has no members in the legislative assembly and its organisational strength in the districts and Kolkata have reduced alarmingly.
“Reviving the party in Bengal is a herculean task right now,” Bhattacharya said.
Days before the seven-phase polls, Mamata Banerjee, who is part of the INDIA block, ruled out seat sharing with Congress and the Left in Bengal and fielded candidates from all 42 seats, of which TMC won 29 and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 12.
Talks on seat sharing among INDIA group partners ran into a stalemate in Bengal, months before the polls when CPI(M) leaders and Chowdhury said they could never have TMC as an ally since their parties had fought against TMC as well as BJP in all recent elections.
Drawing fierce criticism from TMC, Chowdhury repeatedly described Banerjee as BJP’s secret ally.
