'Why TMC, better to vote for BJP': Adhir Chowdhury's video sparks row
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday accused senior Congress leader and party candidate from Baharampur constituency, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, of allegedly endorsing voting for the BJP in a poll-bound rally saying that it is better to vote for BJP than TMC in West Bengal.
In the purported video shared by the Trinamool’s official X handle, the Congress leader, who can be seen addressing an election rally, said in Bengali, “It’s better to vote for the BJP than to vote for the TMC.”
The Mamata Banerjee-led TMC dubbed Chowdhury as BJP’s B-Team member and said that people of Baharampur will give a befitting response to this betrayal.
“After acting as eyes & ears of @BJP4India in Bengal, @adhirrcinc has now been promoted to be the voice of the BJP in Bengal. Listen to how the B-Team member is openly asking people to vote for the BJP – a party that REFUSED to release Bengal’s rightful due & deprived our people of their rights. Only a Bangla-Birodhi can campaign for the BJP, which has repeatedly insulted Bengal’s icons. On May 13, people of Baharampur will give a befitting response to this betrayal!” it said in the X post.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh commented on Chowdhury’s remarks and said that the party has only one aim to defeat the BJP in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
“I haven’t seen the video and don’t know in which context he has said this but I want to make it clear that Congress party has just one aim that is to heavily decrease the number of seats of the BJP that it has got in 2019. This is not assembly elections but Lok Sabha. Left parties and Congress are in the INDIA alliance, Mamata Banerjee has also said the TMC is a part of the alliance, however, we couldn’t do the seat-sharing with TMC,” he said to ANI.
Congress and TMC were initially part of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance in West Bengal but TMC ditched the Congress to contest alone on all 42 seats of the state after seat-sharing talks failed.
Chowdhury many times took jibes at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over the issue of seat sharing within the INDIA alliance. Mamata earlier said that the talks with the Congress failed as her offer was not accepted. She also pointed to delays in finalising a seat-sharing agreement.
Elections 2024:
Adhir Chowdhury will contest from West Bengal’s Baharampur constituency against TMC candidate and Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan. The state is going into polls in seven phases, while the elections for the Baharampur seat are scheduled on May 13 (fourth phase).
A total of 94 Lok Sabha seats across 12 states and Union Territories will go to polls on May 7 in the third phase of seven-phase polls. According to the Election Commission, a total of 1,351 candidates will contest in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
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