Removal of Mamata-critic Adhir purely organisational, says WB Congress

After almost four and half years of continuing as the chief of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, four time Congress MP, Adhir Chowdhury has been removed from his position and made the chairman of campaign committee in West Bengal. Veteran Congress leader, Somendra Nath Mitra, popularly known as Somen Mitra, is the new president.

While political observers feel Chowdhury’s removal might be seen as an instance of Congress softening its stand for a probable truck with Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress, Congress leaders pointed out that Adhir Chowdhury had served his full term and a “change in leadership” was long due. Moreover, Somen Mitra, a former MP of Trinamool Congress is also not much in favour of a electoral tie up with Trinamool Congress, said the leaders.

“It is purely organisational issue. It has nothing to with an alliance with Trinamool Congress. Somen Mitra is a veteran and we all hope that he would further strengthen the party. As far as the issue of alliance is concerned , Somen Mitra is also not much in favour of an alliance,” said Omprakash Mishra, general secretary of WB PCC.


“Adhir Chowdhury’s term is over. The process of replacing PCC chiefs in states started a year ago and this decision is also a part of that,” he added.

Adhir, a vociferous critic of West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has been against any vocal about not having any understanding with the Trinamool. He has been one of the architects of Congress’ alliance with the Left Front here in West Bengal. Chowdhury was also instrumental in filing cases before Calcutta High Court during panchayat election and getting a stay order on the poll process.

Somen Mitra - who switched over to the Trinamool and back - will now head the Congress party in the state. In 2008, Mitra broke away from Congress and floated his own Pragatisheel Indira Congress. In 2009, his party merged with Trinamool Congress and he became an MP from Diamond Harbour on a TMC ticket. In 2014, he resigned as MP, quit the Trinamool and returned to his parent party.

Amitabha Chakrabarty, chairperson of Congress’s outreach and communication committee called this reshuffle as a “collective leadership”, which means Bengal would now witness a new face of Congress.