Congress flags obstruction in Bengal campaign, blames TMC and police

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday alleged that his election campaign in West Bengal was disrupted by individuals linked to the Trinamool Congress, accusing the local police of failing to act despite prior warnings.

Speaking to reporters, Chowdhury claimed that miscreants attempted to block his campaign activities. “During the campaign, some miscreants from the Trinamool Congress tried to stop me. The local police present there did not take any precautionary measures, even though they had been informed in advance about the possibility of such an incident,” he said.

The incident is linked to tensions that flared earlier in Berhampore in Murshidabad district, where Chowdhury — contestant from the constituency — was campaigning with party workers. According to Congress sources, trouble began when he entered Ward No. 19, where alleged TMC supporters obstructed his movement.

Following the episode, the West Bengal Police initiated disciplinary action against the inspector-in-charge (IC) of Berhampore and took legal action against four accused TMC members for unlawful obstruction during Chowdhury’s campaign and nomination process. A police official confirmed that the steps were taken after tensions escalated on 4 April.

Chowdhury also launched a sharp political attack on chief minister Mamata Banerjee, ruling out any possibility of aligning with the BJP. “As long as Mamata Banerjee is there, I will never go to the BJP. It was Mamata Banerjee who, in fact, brought the BJP into Bengal. Not only that, she was once a minister in a BJP-led government. According to political dynamics, Mamata Banerjee herself is their biggest ally,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress has stepped up preparations for the upcoming assembly elections. On 4 April, the party released a list of 284 candidates for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly. The list, announced by K.C. Venugopal in Delhi, includes 39 women candidates, 68 Scheduled Caste nominees, and 16 Scheduled Tribe candidates. Prominent names on the list include Chowdhury and former MP Mausam Benazir Noor.

In a strategic shift, the Congress has decided to contest all 294 seats independently, breaking from its previous alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front. The alliance had contested the 2021 assembly elections together but failed to secure any seats.

Chowdhury, a five-time MP from Berhampore since 1999, suffered a setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when he was defeated by former cricketer Yusuf Pathan, who contested on a Trinamool Congress ticket.

The latest developments underscore rising political tensions in West Bengal ahead of the assembly polls, with accusations of obstruction, administrative lapses, and sharp exchanges between rival parties shaping the early phase of the campaign.

With IANS inputs