Split in Bengal Congress as Abu Naser Ghani Khan Choudhary joins Trinamool

Kolkata: For the first time in Bengal, a traditional Congress family in Malda district has experienced a split as the younger brother of legendary Congress leader A.B.A Ghani Khan Chowdhury, Abu Naser left the party and joined Trinamool Congress.
Naser is the sitting Congress MLA from Sujapur assembly seat in Malda district and has left the party on last Saturday when the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was in town. With Naser's departure from the Congress, the traditional Congress family in Malda district has suffered a division within the family.

Malda has been a Congress stronghold since independence with A.B.A Ghani Khan Chowdhury's rise and his continuous victory in every elections from the district--- be it an assembly seat or lok sabha constituency. Till now, Congress has in it's control both the lok sabha seats from the district.

Ghani Khan's another brother Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury is the sitting Congress MP from Malda South lok sabha seat. His niece Mausam Benazir Noor is another Congress MP from Malda North lok sabha constituency. Of the total 12 assembly seats from the district, the Congress had won 8 in 2011 assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress was so weak in Malda that it could not win more than one assembly seat in the district in 2011.

The Congress in Malda had experienced split in 2012 when party MLA from Englishbazar assembly seat Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury had left the party and joined Trinamool Congress. But Krishnendu is not a member of Ghani Khan Chowdhury family which practically runs and controls the Congress in Malda district. From that point of view, Krishnendu's quitting the party was not a blow to Ghani Khan Chowdhury's family.

Congress MP from Malda North lok sabha seat, Mausam Benazir Noor told ET on Monday that "Nasher's decision to quit Congress will not have any impact on the party as well as in our family. He (Nasher) had suddenly decided to quit Congress to join Trinamool. We were not at all aware about his plan to quit us.

He is not an active Congress worker. He was not visiting his constituency and we have been receiving many complaints and grievances from our men in Sujapur. Naturally, his decision to join Trinamool Congress will neither help the ruling party to extract any electoral mileage in next year's assembly elections, nor harm us in 2016," Noor told ET.

The Congress had won 42 seats in the state Assembly in 2011. But now the party has just 31 MLAs as 11 legislators have already left the organisation and joined Trinamool Congress.