Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has begun internal consultations aimed at rebuilding the party in West Bengal, just days before his meeting with Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday. The discussions come at a time when the TMC is grappling with a wave of defections following its loss of power in the state after 15 years in office.
According to people familiar with the developments, Gandhi met former West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday to discuss the party’s revival strategy in a state where it has been out of power since 1977. Chowdhury, a long time critic of the TMC, reportedly told Gandhi that the Congress now has a significant opportunity to regain political ground in West Bengal.
The two leaders are understood to have discussed the possibility of sections of the electorate, particularly Muslims who make up around 27 per cent of the state’s population according to the 2011 Census, shifting their support towards the Congress.
A Congress leader said Chowdhury also pointed out that several grassroots leaders and workers within the TMC are interested in joining the Congress following the party’s electoral setback. He continued to advocate for an alliance with Left parties to consolidate anti TMC votes, although some leaders within the state Congress unit remain opposed to the idea.
Confirming the meeting, Chowdhury said he sought an appointment with Rahul Gandhi while in Delhi. “Obviously, when we meet, we do not discuss Bengal’s weather,” he remarked. The interaction has gained added significance amid speculation that the Congress may soon consider changes in its leadership structure in West Bengal.
The TMC has been battling internal turmoil since its defeat. The party expelled two of its 78 MLAs before 57 legislators reportedly backed Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly. In Parliament, at least 16 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs are said to have rebelled and met West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The crisis has also affected the party’s strength in the Rajya Sabha. Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Upper House on Monday, followed by Prakash Chik Baraik on Thursday and Sushmita Dev a day earlier, reducing the TMC’s tally in the House to 10 members.
Against this backdrop, Abhishek Banerjee met Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between the two parties. However, the TMC dismissed speculation that the discussions involved any merger proposal. Earlier this week, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee also met Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, while a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is expected soon.
The TMC has not ruled out the possibility of an alliance with the Congress in West Bengal, a move it has largely avoided since 2012. The two parties had contested together in 2011 when the TMC ended the Left Front’s 34 year rule and came to power in the state.
