With Assembly elections in West Bengal a year away, the central Congress leadership, led by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, met state Congress leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K C Venugopal were also present in the meeting attended by West Bengal state Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar, party observer for Bengal Gulam Ahmed Mir, senior party leaders Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Deepa Dasmunsi, Pradip Bhattacharya and party’s lone MP from the state, Isha Khan Chowdhury.
At the meeting, the central leadership discussed organisational matters with the state unit leaders. Sources said that the state unit leaders were told before the meeting that there would be no discussion on the party’s alliance.
“Both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi stressed increasing organisational capacity in the state. They said to mark all the Assembly constituencies where the Congress did well in the last Lok Sabha election. They told us to increase party activities in the constituencies where the party got the most votes in last year’s Lok Sabha election. If necessary, both Rahul and Priyanka may visit those constituencies,” a senior party leader said.
According to AICC sources, Kharge assured the state leaders that Rahul and Priyanka would visit wherever the state leadership wanted them to. Kharge told them that it was important to emphasize on their own organisation when it comes to forming coalitions. “So, without thinking of the alliance, he asked us to strengthen the organisation,” the leader added.
“Rahul said that coordination in Parliament and alliance in any state are not the same. The central leadership is aware how some regional parties have damaged the Congress,” said a senior state leader.
At the meeting, the leaders discussed several issues, including the rape and murder of a junior doctor at RG Kar hospital that had sparked protests against the TMC government in the state last year. The state leaders also briefed the central leadership how BJP has been taking a strong Hindutva line after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.
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In a Facebook post, former state Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote: “…we discussed strategies to strengthen our party in Bengal ahead of the upcoming elections… Our fight is for the people of Bengal, and we are determined to stand by them with full force to protect them from the atrocities of the governments.”
