At a time when the Congress high command is weighing options on whether to ally with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) or the Left parties for the 2016 Assembly elections, a majority of the leaders from West Bengal unit of the party preferred the latter .
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary C P Joshi, on a stock-taking exercise in the State, chaired a meeting here on Saturday of key functionaries of the State Congress.
While both Mr. Joshi and State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury refused to divulge the details of the meeting, those present at the meeting said it was called to gauge the opinion of State leadership.
“In the meeting, most of the party MLAs and MPs along with the 28 district presidents said an alliance with the Left in the 2016 Assembly polls will be much more beneficial than with the TMC,” a senior Congress leader told The Hindu . He also said the party’s electoral prospects in Bengal has been “severely damaged” after it joined forces with TMC in the 2011 polls.
Another party insider said that two views emerged in the “stock taking” meeting. While a section of party leaders argued that if the party joined forces with the Left then it would strengthen its “minority support base” in the State. The other view voiced at the meeting was that the Congress should fight alone . According to party sources, those proposing this said there was “no difference” between the Left and the TMC since both have committed “atrocities” on Congress workers.
While Mr. Joshi said the Congress high command would take the “final call” on the matter, Mr. Chowdhury said the announcement in this regard will be made by the AICC and not the State Congress.
“Congress is neither a guerrilla party nor Kishenji’s party. If we enter into an alliance with the Communist Party of India-Marxist, a press release will be issued by the AICC,” Mr. Chowdhury said.
