‘TMC leaders will be happy’: Who is new West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar

Sending out the signal that he will try and do things differently, Sarkar said on Sunday, “This is not merely an individual’s appointment but a collective appointment of all Congress workers, as everyone is an equal stakeholder. It will not be about me alone, but ‘we’. Congress workers will always stand with the people and collectively decide on our policies and politics. Decisions adopted by the West Bengal Congress will be based on people’s feedback, internal discussion, and mutual consensus.”

“I am starting from zero. I will talk to our workers, district and block-level leaders and then will take decisions,” Sarkar told The Indian Express.

A senior state Congress leader said the new PCC chief may try and dial down the tension between the party and the TMC. “Subhankar is such a face who is accepted by all the factions in the party. Adhir Chowdhury personally likes him and his equations with the followers of the late Somen Mitra are good as well. Subhankar will not be so vocal a critic of the Trinamool Congress as Adhir. He is a more moderate leader in that respect. Naturally, TMC leaders will be happy,” said the Congress functionary.

Asked about Sarkar succeeding him, Chowdhury told reporters, “I cannot state president all the time. I remain a member of the Congress working committee and the party’s national election committee.”

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh congratulated Sarkar on Sunday. “Though from another party, (you are) a longtime friend, long acquaintance, and (we have had) occasional talks. Though a different political party, it is also good to see a leader from a new generation take charge. Hope the reality of Bengal politics will reflect in your steps,” he wrote on X.

Sarkar was born into a family of freedom fighters in a small village in Medinipur. His grandparents as well as his father Debabrata Sarkar were involved in the Independence movement. He began his political journey while still in college and went on to head the West Bengal Chhatra Parishad, the party’s students’ wing in the state, from 1996 to 2004. He later went on to become the national general secretary of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the party-affiliated student outfit and served in the Indian Youth Congress from 2004 to 2006. The following year, he returned to state politics, serving as the WBPCC secretary till about 2009. As his star rose within the party, he was appointed a national secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in 2013 and he remained in the post till 2018.

“I started my political career as a booth agent and then went on to serve in student, state, and national politics,” Sarkar said.

His appointment at the helm of the WBPCC comes weeks after the party reappointed him as AICC national secretary and placed him in charge of its affairs in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. In his previous tenure as AICC national secretary, he served as the state in-charge of Odisha.