© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Earlier this week, the Congress replaced its West Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury with Subhankar Sarkar. While Chowdhury was seen to be the aggressive face of the party who kept up his attacks on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) even when the Delhi leadership was trying to strike an alliance with it, Sarkar is expected to take a more moderate line.
In an interview with The Indian Express, the new West Bengal Congress chief spells out his plans for the party in the state, the challenges ahead and the party’s role in the INDIA bloc, among other issues. Excerpts:
My immediate priority is to revamp and rebuild the party organisation from booth to state-level and interact with workers from across the state. I will also hold discussions with other parties associated with us. Right now, we are fighting against the ideologies of the BJP and RSS as well as their anti-India activities. Our top priority is to win back the confidence of the people.
I will interact with all the frontal organisations of the party, including the student wing, youth wing, mahila wing, trade unions and others, and launch grassroot-level programmes.
The Congress is suffering in the state due to the marketing politics of the BJP and TMC, which use their financial powers and resources. The TMC uses its police and administration against the people due to which youngsters are scared. For instance, if one of our young workers gets a job, the TMC creates hurdles by slapping false cases against him.
(But) As a Congress worker, I realise that the people of Bengal have not been happy with our party’s activities for a long time. Hence, we do not get support. They have seen unemployment, corruption, scams and the R G Kar incident (rape and murder of a junior doctor) under the TMC rule but still go and vote for the ruling party and also the BJP. I want to know why the people support the TMC and BJP.
I want them to see the present situation of the state and compare it to previous regimes. I will also urge them to think about what the BJP is doing at the national level.
I agree we are organisationally weak in Bengal, but we will try to convince the people. We will tell the people that if the Congress is weak, the state is weak, and in turn the country is weak. I think the Congress will see favourable results in the 2026 (Assembly) polls.
We will also reach out to the people with the message of Rahul Gandhi, who has become the face of the downtrodden after the Bharat Jodo Yatras. The people realise this and hence voted for the Congress (in the recent Lok Sabha polls). This is why he became the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
To increase our social presence, I am urging all Congress workers and supporters to hoist the party flag at their homes. This will ensure that new party workers are easily able to identify households that support the party in the area.
The Congress is a major shareholder in the INDIA bloc, of which both the Left and TMC are a part. Even though the TMC fought the Lok Sabha polls alone, the Left and Congress contested together and continue to be partners in the INDIA bloc. However, at this moment, the activities of the TMC are not acceptable to the people of Bengal. As elections approach, the AICC will decide who to ally with. However, a final decision will be taken after taking suggestions from our district presidents and workers.
There is no step forward for any political party without the people’s support. Our decision (on allying with the TMC) will depend on discussions between our cadre and the senior leadership. Our priority is to strengthen our party.
During the panchayat polls, our workers were beaten up by TMC supporters. Many of them were scared and chose to stay in the PCC office for two months. Chowdhury raised his voice against this. There is no personal enmity between him and Banerjee. It was a normal reaction for the president of any party.
Only time will tell.
