Adhir Chowdhury: ‘Almost all of Bengal Congress opposed alliance with TMC … but only I am being blamed’

In a major setback to the Congress and its unit in West Bengal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the party’s outgoing floor leader of the Lok Sabha, lost from Baharampur to the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC’s) debut face and cricketer-turned-politician Yusuf Pathan.

In an interview with The Indian Express, Chowdhury speaks of the reasons behind his loss, the dynamics of the TMC and Congress in West Bengal, and his future ahead. Excerpts:

A defeat is a defeat. I did everything I could, but I could not succeed. I have won the seat five times. I am hearing the BJP polled more votes this time.

The ruling party in West Bengal (TMC) waged a strange campaign. They imported someone from outside — I do not have any objection to that — but he (Pathan) came and started telling minorities to vote for ‘bhai’ and not ‘dada’. Dada means Hindu and bhai means Muslim.

But I don’t have any complaints against anybody. Yusuf Pathan is a good man. He did not utter a word against me… He is a sportsman and fought like one… I tried, but our fight was against the ruling party. They have the organisation, control all the panchayats and municipalities. Slowly, people were given the benefits of welfare schemes. My district is a very poor district and is the hub of migrant workers.

If a poor person gets Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200, it is a big relief for them, especially women. And they said in the campaign that if the TMC candidate loses, the Lakshmir Bandar scheme (for women) will be stopped. They created that fear.

But I am not saying all these as excuses. I accept the defeat unconditionally.

I had told my party that I have no problem whatsoever with the party entering into an agreement with anyone. But I told them that she (West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee) will