New state Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar on Sunday said the party would not oppose Mamata Banerjee’s government without good reason and might support it if she “upholds a democratic environment” or works towards industrialisation.

Sarkar, a perceived “moderate” who replaces the militantly anti-Mamata Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, pledged that the state Congress would continue calling into account the ruling parties at the Centre and in Bengal for their follies.

He, however, remained non-committal on the future of the party’s equations with state ally CPM and state rival Trinamool Congress. At the national level, all three are part of the anti-BJP INDIA bloc.

“Trinamool is a political party and the CPM is another. Both are part of INDIA nationally. If Trinamool genuinely upholds a democratic environment, I will not oppose them for no reason,” the 64-year-old said at Bidhan Bhavan.

“If they work towards establishing industry, I will support them. But if I find they are taking money in the name of development, I will oppose them. My first and foremost responsibility is to ensure the strengthening of my party in our state.”

Sarkar said he would listen to advice from the surviving former state Congress presidents Chowdhury, 68, and Pradip Bhattacharya, 79.

The Congress high command’s move to replace Chowdhury with Sarkar is being viewed as a signal to both Trinamool and the CPM in Bengal.

According to state Congress sources, the decision reflects the majority view in the All India Congress Committee (AICC), which Chowdhury remains a part of, that the former Behrampore MP’s unflinching anti-Mamata stance and his proximity to the CPM had not helped the party in the general election.

Adhir leads a rally in Calcutta on Sunday, demanding justice for the RG Kar victim Sourced by The Telegraph

The Congress won just one Lok Sabha seat – Malda Dakshin – out of the 42 in Bengal and the Left won none after the two contested as allies.

Chowdhury, who had won five consecutive general elections from Behrampore since 1999, himself lost to the greenhorn Trinamool candidate and retired cricketer Yusuf Pathan. Trinamool, contesting alone, won 29 seats.

An analysis of the poll data suggests that a united fight by the INDIA bloc in Bengal would have cost the BJP at least 6 of the 12 seats it won.

In the 2021 Assembly elections, the Congress and the Left had failed to win a single seat in the 294-member House.

“The Congress wants to maintain some sort of equidistance from both Trinamool and the CPM in Bengal for now, and create a political narrative of its own in the state,” a source said.

“The party feels it should have its own political stance and not become a tool for other political forces here.”

Sarkar’s appointment had surprised many, coming amid speculation about a fresh term for Chowdhury, who was the state unit president in 2014-18 and 2020-24.

Congress sources suggested that Chowdhury’s removal may have been influenced by Sonia Gandhi, who has shared a personal rapport with Mamata since the days the Bengal politician was a protégé of Rajiv Gandhi in the Congress.

“While Rahul Gandhi was fond and supportive of Chowdhury, he has worked with Sarkar in the AICC and likes him as well,” a source said. “There’s no doubt that Sarkar’s appointment is an olive branch to Kalighat (Mamata).”

Asked about the party’s equations with the CPM, Sarkar said: “Until recently, we were allied with the Left. I campaigned alongside senior leaders of the Left. Now, after becoming state president, if I suddenly say we are no longer with the Left, or that we are now with Trinamool, or with neither….

“This is not why I was made state president. My job is to strengthen and energise the Congress in the state.”

CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said: “It’s their internal decision and we should not comment. We are fighting for the cause of the people and we hope the Congress too will continue doing that in Bengal.”

Chakraborty said Trinamool had come to power in 2011 as a Congress ally but Mamata’s attempts to destroy the party in the state caused them to part ways. “Subhankar Sarkar too will have to understand that,” he added.

Sarkar said Bengal’s people had expectations from the Congress and were being misled with all the talk about a Trinamool-BJP binary in the state.

“We will walk the path shown by our leader Rahul Gandhi and not be afraid of anyone, nor intimidate anyone,” he said.

Trinamool’s Kunal Ghosh wished Sarkar well. “He is from a different party but has been a friend whom I have known for a long time,” he said.

“It’s always heartening to see a leader from the new generation taking charge. I hope the realities of Bengal politics will be reflected in his decisions.”

Chowdhury said the high command had the right to appoint anyone as state president.

“This is natural; one will go, another will come. This has always been the process in the Congress,” he said.