A tug-of-war between the Congress and the Trinamul Congress over A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury’s political legacy came to the fore once again on Wednesday, the death anniversary of the Malda Congress stalwart.

On Wednesday, leaders of both the parties observed Ghani’s death anniversary, claiming themselves as the “right successors” to his political legacy.

CPM leaders, too, for the first time, went to Kotowali, Ghani’s ancestral house located 10km from here, to offer floral tributes at his tomb.

In the past also, leaders of Trinamul and the Congress had paid tributes to Ghani on his birth anniversary. The Left Front is fighting the current Assembly polls in alliance with the Congress.

Ghani, a five-time MLA and an eight-time MP from Malda, had held several crucial departments as minister, both in the state and at the Centre, from 1972 to 1984. He passed away on April 14, 2006.

State irrigation minister Soumen Mahapatra, Englishbazar Trinamul candidate Krishnendu Choudhury and many other party leaders gathered at Brindabani Ground of the town on Wednesday morning to pay respect to Ghani’s life-size statue.

Choudhury had unveiled the statue after Ghani’s demise. “Barkatda was an iconic leader. He is particularly relevant when a communal party’s roars are being heard in the state and the Congress has surrendered to the CPM, which he had fought all his life,” Choudhury said.

“Undoubtedly, Mamata Banerjee and Trinamul are the true torch-bearers of Barkatda’s anti-CPM and anti-BJP ideologies,” he claimed.

Ghani’s nephew Isha Khan Choudhury, his father Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury and other relatives gathered around Ghani’s tomb to pay tributes before they went out for election campaigns.

“My uncle was not only the guardian of our family. Actually, all residents of Malda still regard him as the pioneer and a visionary of a district like Malda. But all must remember that he never left the Congress, unlike the opportunists who are adept at shifting political allegiance every now and then. Thus, the Congress alone carried forward Ghani’s political legacy,” said the younger Khan Choudhury.

Englishbazar CPM candidate Koushik Mishra also offered flowers to Ghani’s tomb at Kotowali. “The CPM and Barkat Saheb had always respected each other. He becomes particularly congruous as Trinamul does not care for political courtesy and the BJP is endangering the communal harmony which Ghani Khan tried to preserve all his life.”

The BJP, which though stayed from any formal programme to pay homage to Ghani, ridiculed the CPM.

“How can we forget that the CPM had described Ghani as ‘shukno pata’ (dry leaf) in 2004 with the ambition of defeating him? We are not hypocrites like them. Ghani Khan was a respectable leader. We never insulted him personally,” said Ajay Ganguly, Malda district BJP general secretary.