With Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury officially out, Congress on the lookout for new WB prez; might mend ties with TMC

After his defeat in the Lok Sabha election to a newbie, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is officially on his way out from the West Bengal Congress presidency. The stalwart lost his Bahrampur seat to TMC’s Yusuf Pathan who made his political debut this year.

With his exit, the All India Congress Committee has begun headhunting for the next West Bengal Congress president. The grand old party will also look at ways to mend ties with Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, something that was not possible under Chowdhury’s leadership.

Chowdhury, who suffered a major setback during elections, is a Congress stalwart and has been the MP-elect of Bahrampur five times. Despite being a long-time member of the grand old party, the leader has often found himself at odds with Congress. Chowdhury has always been a vocal critic of the TMC government in West Bengal while INC wants a more cordial relationship with the party, especially after both parties joined hands as part of the INDIA bloc.

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AICC holds meeting with WB Cong

Earlier this week, AICC held a meeting with West Bengal Pradesh Congress to discuss successors to Chowdhury. The meeting was held in New Delhi and was attended by senior leaders.

According to a report by Indian Express, state leaders have left it up to the high command to replace Adhir while requesting the party to rejuvenate the party at the grassroots level.

During the meeting, AICC leaders also deliberated on ways to improve relations with TMC.

“As you know, after the Lok Sabha results, Adhir Chowdhury submitted his resignation to the high command. Talks on Bengal were held; we had called 25 leaders for one-on-one meetings. Discussions were held as to what needs to be done there before the 2026 Assembly polls. Now a roadmap will be made, including a party structure," AICC Bengal in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir told reporters after the meeting.

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Speaking about the party’s decision to re-evaluate its ties with Congress, former Raiganj MP Dasmuni said, “There is also a question that we are part of the INDIA alliance but in Bengal, the fight is against the BJP as well as the TMC. This raises questions. On the other side too, the TMC is fighting against us in Bengal despite being in the INDIA alliance. Then there is polarisation in Bengal like we have never seen earlier. It is tough but we have to rebuild our organisation slowly.”

‘The day Kharge became Cong prez…’

Reacting to his exit, Chowdhury said, “The day Mallikarjun Kharge became the party president, all other posts of the party in the country became temporary, according to the Constitution of the party. Even my post became temporary…While the election was underway, Mallikarjun Kharge said on television that if necessary I would be kept out, which made me upset.”

The leader also claimed that he was not informed whether his resignation had been accepted by the party or not. He also questioned his party for removing him from the presidency without prior intimation.