Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge appoints Subhankar Sarkar as President of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee with immediate effect. With this announcement, Sarkar has replaced Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as party's Bengal unit chief. Besides this, Congress leaders MK Bhardwaj and Bhanu Mahajan were appointed as Acting Working Presidents of the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee.
Sarkar, who previously held the position of All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary responsible for the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Mizoram, will now take on the crucial role of leading the Congress in West Bengal. As part of the transition, he has been relieved of his responsibilities as AICC secretary.
Following his appointment, Sarker stated that the state Congress will operate according to the wishes of party workers in Bengal, emphasising that the aspirations of the people will guide the party’s future direction, news agency PTI reported.
Chowdhury, a five-time Lok Sabha MP, had resigned from his post as the West Bengal Congress president following the party's disappointing performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the state. Notably, he had lost his Baharampur seat in Murshidabad district to Trinamool Congress (TMC) candidate and former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan. Chowdhury's defeat, coupled with his vocal stance against forming alliances with the Trinamool Congress, had been a point of contention within the party.
“The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,” the Congress said in its official statement.
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Congress Eyes Smoother Ties With TMC In Bengal?
Adhir Chowdhury’s opposition to the Trinamool Congress, both at the state and national levels, had been at odds with the Congress high command’s stance of maintaining a more cordial relationship with the TMC. Sarkar, on the other hand, may be deemed as someone who can maintain a more balanced approach towards the ruling TMC, which may further ease tensions and pave the way for smoother coordination between the two parties.
Chowdhury’s differences with the Congress command over the party’s ties with the TMC had been surfacing for some time. In fact, his remarks against the TMC and its supremo Mamata Banerjee were cited as the reason by Trinamool for seat-sharing talks with the Congress failing in Bengal.
The process of selecting a new chief was initiated after Chowdhury's resignation, with the Congress leadership gathering feedback from state leaders to ensure a balanced approach in relations with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at both national and state levels.