New Delhi: The Congress is in a predicament within the state because the social gathering excessive command isn’t fully clear on whether or not it can contest the West Bengal polls alone or in alliance with the Left and the Trinamool Congress. In consequence, though the BJP and TMC rapidly moved into election mode, their leaders have been unable to marketing campaign.
In latest months, it has come to gentle {that a} majority of Bengal Meeting officers, together with district presidents, have conveyed to the management in separate conferences that they aren’t solely against any proposal for an alliance with the TMC, however are additionally in favor of canceling the social gathering’s decade-old electoral alliance with the Left Entrance.
Nevertheless, the Congress excessive command is but to take a name on the problem. Including to the confusion, Sudip Roy Burman, who was appointed senior observer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) for the West Bengal polls, recognized the Bharatiya Janata Get together because the “essential opponent” in his first assembly with the social gathering’s state leaders, sources instructed ThePrint.
“Although Sudip Roy Burman didn’t say something explicitly concerning the alliance, those that attended the assembly left with the interpretation that the excessive command may be exploring the concept of sharing seats with the TMC. In spite of everything, senior observers are anticipated to be the voice of the excessive command,” mentioned a senior West Bengal Congress official.
TMC has already introduced plans to work independently. In the meantime, the CPI(M) introduced on Sunday after a central committee assembly that “the social gathering will attempt to defeat each the TMC and the BJP who’re attempting to polarize society” and “will attempt to unite all forces which are able to oppose them”, hinting at its readiness to companion with the Congress.
“There’s not a single chief within the Congress’s West Bengal unit who’s keen to just accept any understanding with the TMC,” mentioned a senior West Bengal Congress chief. “As for the Left, there’s a wing co-opted by two senior Congress leaders, together with Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Pradip Bhattacharya, who’ve at all times fought for alliances. However the majority of leaders and employees insist on the necessity for unilateral motion.”
“In any case, readability is the necessity of the hour. As soon as that’s achieved, potential candidates can at the least be clear about their plans for campaigning and fundraising,” the chief added.
The Congress had allied with the TMC in 2011 however joined fingers with the Left inside 5 years when the Left Entrance was ousted from energy after 34 years of uninterrupted rule. Since 2016, the Congress has contested two parliamentary elections and one Lok Sabha election as an alliance companion of the Left, however has struggled in nationwide politics and remained a marginal power.
In 2011, the TMC, then a part of the UPA, received 184 seats, giving the Congress 42 seats within the 294-member West Bengal Meeting.
In 2016, after becoming a member of fingers with the Left and wresting seats from the TMC, the Congress received 44 seats, forward of the CPI(M)’s 26 seats. Nevertheless, by way of vote share, the Congress secured 12.25 per cent in comparison with CPI(M)’s 19.75 per cent. The TMC made an enormous leap ahead, successful 211 seats with a vote share of 44.9 per cent.
Makes an attempt to cobble collectively a Left-Congress alliance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections have failed. Ultimately, the Congress stood alone, with a vote share of 5.67 %, successful solely two of the 40 seats contested. This was the primary election contested by itself since 2006, and clearly mirrored that the social gathering’s organizational power was almost eroded.
Nevertheless, within the 2021 polls, the Congress as soon as once more struck a seat-sharing take care of the CPI(M), this time with the addition of one other social gathering, the Indian Secular Entrance (ISF), led by a Muslim cleric. Each the Congress and the Left drew blanks within the polls, with the Bharatiya Janata Get together ceding the place of the principle opposition social gathering within the state.
The Congress, which contested 91 seats, obtained solely 2.93% of the votes, whereas the Left Entrance, which fielded candidates in 138 constituencies, obtained 9.32%. The alliance continued within the 2024 basic elections, however the election marketing campaign turned polarized between the TMC and the BJP, with a spot as soon as once more going to the Left and one seat returning to the Congress.
“What have we gained via repeated alliances with the Left? Initially it made sense because the Left nonetheless had vital presence and sources on the sales space stage. What’s the level of piggybacking on them now? The Left will solely assist the Bharatiya Janata Get together’s marketing campaign in opposition to us in Kerala, our essential rival,” the Congress chief alleged.
For now, not many count on the Congress to be revived within the state, other than some seats in Muslim-majority Malda and Murshidabad districts. The latest return of former Malda North MP Mausam Benazir Noor to the social gathering from the TMC has reignited hopes in Congress circles that the social gathering will have the ability to make its presence felt within the areas it as soon as dominated.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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