Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Considering this, Congress leader Adir Chowdhury’s next move is now of utmost relevance in the political space of West Bengal.
The leader had stepped down as the Congress state chief after the results of the Lok Sabha polls 2024 were declared, taking responsibility for the defeat at the hands of Trinamool Congress’ candidate Yusuf Pathan.
The facade surrounding Chowdhury’s resignation garnered limelight, yet again, when the Congress leader expressed his disappointment regarding Congress high command not giving any formal notification to the leader about his resignation being accepted.
Now, as Chowdhury is being addressed as the ‘former Bengal Congress chief’ by his party colleagues, his disappointment underscores the confidence he had in continuing with the position even after tendering resignation.
One wonders whether the Congress top-leadership, too, believes Chowdhury’s underperformance to be the reason for the party’s abysmal performance in the general elections— Congress secured one Lok Sabha seat from Bengal.
It has been learnt that both the TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are wooing Chowdhury to rope him into their political outfits.
While the Congress veteran’s disappointment appears bizarre — he resigned out of his own accord — Congress’ dwindling existence in West Bengal cannot be overlooked.
Chowdhury was the face of the party in the state, who was always at loggerheads with TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. This must have been the bone of contention between him and who’s who of the Congress. After all, he always objected to work in coordination with Banerjee. This, too, made the INDIA bloc’s existence questionable in the longer run.
With regards to Adhir’s next move, certain speculations have surfaced. To begin with, Chowdhury is contemplating on launching his own political outfit.
This possibility reminds one of his comment which came after his defeat at the Lok Sabha polls, that is, “I [was] a BPL MP”.
If this is true then it would be difficult for him to launch his own political party. However, another side of this could be that the BJP might help him with the funds to sustain Chowdhury’s ‘speculated’ political ambition.
If this turns into a reality then BJP will be in a win-win situation. On one hand, Congress’s existence in the state will be nullified, who will survive at the mercy of the TMC. Second, the saffron clan will become more powerful in the state as indirectly they will succeed in roping Chowdhury, which might help them to emerge as the ruling party in the state.
Five-time Congress MP Chowdhury siding with TMC is a distant dream with zero chances of it turning into a reality, albeit tables in politics can turn any moment.
At present, developments and speculations around them suggest that Chowdhury’s political career hangs in the balance with eyes on who will be his successor as West Bengal Pradesh Congress Chief; in line with the actions and reactions of Chowdhury's resignation and events that followed.
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