LS polls: Discontent plagues Cong state unit
Kolkata: With the Congress high command yet to prepare a poll campaign strategy for Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, discontent within the party’s state unit has become apparent.
Most Opposition parties such as the BJP and the Left in Bengal have already kickstarted their campaigns and have begun drawing strategies for the elections.
Recently, BJP’s Central leaders have visited Kolkata to form election committees and lay out a blueprint on how to reach out to the people and the issues that are to be highlighted.
Similarly, TMC too has started holding meetings with its district organisations, briefing them on how to campaign from block levels. Recently, even the party supremo Mamata Banerjee too held a meeting at her Kalighat residence. The Left on the other hand kicked off its poll campaign with the DYFI Insaaf rally at the Brigade Parade Ground.
However, no such apparent activities are yet visible within the Congress state unit which is, according to sources, yet to hold any such election meetings. Sources said that Pradesh Congress leaders are yet to get any intimation from their party’s high command who are preoccupied with seat-sharing talks.
Further, sources said that some of the leaders of Pradesh Congress Committee were called to Delhi by the high command for discussing strategies but a discontent is apparent within the state-unit where questions are being raised on the basis of which selected leaders were chosen for the meeting.
The state unit chief Adhi Ranjan Chowdhury is giving more importance to the Berhampore seat which the Congress had bagged in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls along with that of Malda (South). But many Congress leaders feel that it is high time that a full-fledged meeting should take place on drawing up a campaign blueprint for the elections. In such a situation, it was learnt that Congress’ Bengal observer for Lok Sabha polls, Ghulam Ahmad Mir is coming down to Bengal on January 15 to meet the Pradesh Congress leaders. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also expected to reach North Bengal from Assam on January 27 as part of his Nyay Yatra.
