Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and known for being a motor-mouth.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sushmita Dev on Wednesday shared a video on X featuring Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury purportedly suggesting that voting for the BJP might be better than supporting the TMC in West Bengal.
In the undated video, Chowdhury, the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, can be heard saying in Bengali, “Why vote for TMC …better to vote for BJP”.
Dev, a former president of All India Mahila Congress who has since joined the TMC, pointedly referred to Chowdhury as a “star campaigner for BJP in Bengal” in her tweet. Chowdhury has often embarrassed his party with his bizarre statements.
“Meet the @INCIndia star campaigner for BJP in Bengal. @adhirrcinc Leader of the House of Lok Sabha,” Dev wrote as she shared the video.
While the authenticity and full context of the video remain unverified, tensions between the TMC and Chowdhury are not new in Bengal”s political landscape. Earlier in the week, Chowdhury accused the TMC of weakening the opposition INDIA bloc in West Bengal as he campaigned for CPM state secretary Mohd Salim in Murshidabad. He also asserted that the BJP was gaining ground in the state.
The friction between the TMC leadership and Chowdhury was evident during the negotiations over seat-sharing between the Congress and Mamata Banerjee”s party for the Lok Sabha elections, ultimately leading to their failure. The TMC squarely blamed Chowdhury for the breakdown in negotiations.
Although both the TMC and Congress are part of the opposition INDIA bloc at the national level, they are contesting the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal separately.
Interestingly, during a recent election rally in Behrampore, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath refrained from targeting Bengal Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. He directed his blistering attack, which included communal and inflammatory elements, towards issues like Sandeshkhali and the Trinamool regime, as well as targeting Chowdhury”s party and its Bengal ally, the CPM.
During the rally in Behrampore two days before, BJP National President JP Nadda similarly chose not to criticise Chowdhury, forcing Mamata Banerjee to ask why the BJP treated the Congress”s Lok Sabha leader with “utmost respect.”
“Is he really a Congressman? Is he truly anti-BJP?” she asked. “This is why they help the BJP out in implementing all their malicious intentions, in every possible way.”
The TMC chief had earlier implied that Chowdhury enjoys favour from the Sangh Parivar and receives tacit support from the BJP, a suggestion that Chowdhury has dismissed on multiple occasions.
