The coronation of Shubhankar in West Bengal hints at a change in Congress’s stance

With Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s arch-rival Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury being replaced by Shubhankar Sarkar as the West Bengal Congress president, possibilities of a shift in the state’s political equation are being hinted at. This is because Shubhankar Sarkar, unlike Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, is in favor of forming an alliance with the ruling Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee.

Possibilities of Trinamool getting closer and CPI(M) drifting away

With Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s arch-rival Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury being replaced by Shubhankar Sarkar as the West Bengal Congress president, possibilities of a shift in the state’s political equation are being hinted at. This is because Shubhankar Sarkar, unlike Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, is in favor of allying with the ruling Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee. In this context, Congress is once again likely to move closer to Trinamool Congress in Bengal. Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress high command are in favor of maintaining unity among opposition parties against the BJP, and for this, they want to strengthen ties with Mamata Banerjee. However, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been opposing Mamata Banerjee since the 2011 West Bengal assembly elections, accusing her of weakening Congress in the state. He had also allied with the CPI(M)-led Left Front to contest elections, but Congress did not gain politically from this alliance.

May adopt the 2011 strategy

Now, Congress is trying to revive its organization in Bengal by adopting the 2011 strategy, i.e., by allying with Mamata Banerjee. Party leaders said that the party high command believes that Mamata Banerjee had weakened Congress significantly after 2011, but Congress had gained politically by forming an alliance with Trinamool Congress in the 2001 and 2011 assembly elections. This time too, Congress is likely to benefit from an alliance with Trinamool Congress. Shubhankar Sarkar is close to Rahul Gandhi and was part of his youth brigade in West Bengal. Sources said that Shubhankar has been made the state president to implement Rahul Gandhi’s strategy in Bengal.

Performed well in management

A senior party leader said that Shubhankar, who was in charge of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, had performed well in managing Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in the northeastern states. He also showcased his political skills during the Karnataka assembly elections when he was in charge of the state. Rahul Gandhi sees a lot of potential in Shubhankar.