Amidst the electoral fervor enveloping West Bengal, a bombshell statement from senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury sent shockwaves through the political landscape. Addressing an election rally on Tuesday, Chowdhury asserted that it would be preferable to cast a vote in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rather than the Trinamool Congress (TMC).
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla swiftly seized upon this remark, circulating a video of Chowdhury's statement. Poonawalla contended that Chowdhury's words reflected his understanding that any support extended to the TMC would inevitably harm West Bengal.
However, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, upon being confronted with Chowdhury's statement, claimed that he had not viewed the video and was, therefore, unaware of the context in which the remark was made. Nonetheless, Ramesh emphatically declared that the Congress party's sole objective remained the significant reduction of the BJP's parliamentary presence, achieved in the 2019 general elections.
Ramesh further emphasized the alliance between the Congress and Left parties, acknowledging the inclusion of the TMC within this alliance as per the statement of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Notably, no seat-sharing arrangement has been formalized between the Congress and the TMC in Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
In a swift counteroffensive, the Trinamool Congress vehemently accused Chowdhury of serving as the BJP's spokesperson in Bengal, labeling him as the party's B-Team. The party's official statement condemned Chowdhury's open solicitation of votes for the BJP, a party that had repeatedly snubbed Bengal's rightful entitlements and deprived its citizens of their fundamental rights.
The Trinamool Congress further denounced Chowdhury as a Bangla-Birodhi, an adversary of Bengal, citing the BJP's history of disparaging Bengal's icons. The party vowed that the people of Baharampur would deliver a resounding response to Chowdhury's betrayal on May 13.
On April 28, at a political rally, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee leveled accusations against the Congress and CPM, alleging their complicity in aiding the BJP's agenda within the state. Banerjee condemned the Congress-CPM alliance, characterizing it as a covert alliance with the BJP, effectively undermining the anti-BJP vote share and bolstering the prospects of Narendra Modi's reelection.
As the electoral battleground of West Bengal intensifies, Chowdhury's controversial statement has sparked a fierce exchange of allegations and counter-allegations, further polarizing the political atmosphere.
