Mallikarjun Kharge posters defaced near West Bengal Congress headquarters

Congress party internal conflict over Trinamool Congress support escalates with defaced posters, highlighting rift between leaders in Kolkata.

The differences in the Congress party over the support to Trinamool Congress took an ugly turn on Sunday when several posters and hoardings of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge were defaced in front of the party’s State headquarters Bidhan Bhawan in Kolkata.

The development came a day after Mr. Kharge snubbed State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for questioning Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s loyalty to the Opposition INDIA bloc.

The Congress president had said that Ms. Banerjee was part of the INDIA bloc and she would join the government once the Opposition alliance came to power.

“Mamata Banerjee is with the alliance. She has recently said that she will join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not take the decision. The decision will be taken by me and the high command and those who don’t agree will go out,” Mr. Kharge had said.

Mr. Chowdhury, however, continued with his criticism of the West Bengal Chief Minister and said that he “cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish me and our party in Bengal politically”. “If Kharge ji speaks against my views, I will continue to speak for Congressmen at the grassroots in the state,” he said.

On Sunday, when the posters were defaced, Mr. Chowdhury condemned the development. Sources in the party said that he was considering filing a police complaint in connection with the defacement of posters. Unidentified persons who defaced the posters also wrote “agent of Trinamool Congress” on Mr. Kharge’s posters and hoardings.

The development came amidst the Lok Sabha polls for which the Congress was in an electoral alliance with the Left parties in the State. While the Congress was contesting nine seats, the rest were for the Left parties.