Amid an optimistic mood in the West Bengal unit of the Congress ahead of a Union Cabinet reshuffle, with some party MPs hoping to get ministerial berths, signs of dissent have emerged in the party. A party MLA from Malda district, has expressed his desire to resign from the party and switch over to the Trinamool Congress.
Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury, MLA from Englishbazar, said on Saturday he would be happy to join the Trinamool and had received a call from party chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in this regard.
“I will be very happy to join the Trinamool. The Chief Minister called me up on Friday and I will meet her over the matter in next few days,” Mr. Chowdhury told
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The two-time Congress MLA, however, is yet to formally resign from the party.
Mr. Chowdhury claimed that he was being continuously ignored and sidelined in the party by its leadership and was not getting opportunities to work for people.
He said that in the past, Congress leaders from the district such as Sabitri Mitra, Minister of Women and Child Development, left the party because of this attitude of the party leadership.
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Ahead of the 2011 Assembly elections, Ms. Mitra left the Congress and joined the Trinamool.
Since the Assembly elections, a number of Congress leaders have left the party and joined the Trinamool. Mr. Chowdhury’s desire to join the Trinamool is significant, as the party does not have a strong support base in Malda district.