Kolkata: Trinamool Congress's rising electoral curve in West Bengal and emergence as the main opposition party has taken a toll on its ally Congress whose rank has been hit by desertions to the party led by Mamata Banerjee.
State Congress secretary Binodananda Banerjee and
former MLAs Ramjanam Majhi and Gulshan Mullick from Uluberia
(North) and Panchla constituencies respectively in Howrah
district are the latest to have approached Trinamool Congress.
State Trinamool Congress president Subrata Buxi told
PTI today that "we have decided to admit them to the party on
the basis of their applications."
He said besides them, about 40 Congress workers in
Howrah district, including some gram panchayat members, had
also joined Trinamool Congress.
Bivash Hazra, a Youth Congress president in Howrah district, joined TC.
Asked about the desertions from Congress, WPCC leader Abdul Mannan said "those wanting to leave the party for personal gains can leave. What we can do?"
Fresh from the latest victory in assembly byelections, Mamata Banerjee has emerged as the undisputed leader of the opposition alliance in the state.
Pradesh Congress president Pranab Mukherjee had said recently that the results of the by-elections were proof of the people's confidence in Mamata Banerjee's leadership and support to Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance.
On the other hand, Congress put up a below par performance winning only three seats it had contested in the byelections with a shock loss in its stronghold Goalpokhor.
WBPCC working president Pradip Bhattacherjee said the
party's core committee at a meeting demanded that the
Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee government resign on moral grounds
following the Left Front's continuous election debacles which
started since panchayat elections in 2008.
"This government has lost credibility and the people's
support and should take a vote now and not wait till 2011 when
the assembly elections are due in the state", he said.
He said that the party was opposed to 'Bangla Bandh'
calls by Left opposition party SUCI and the BJP on November 24
and 30 respectively to protest price rise.
"We feel both bandhs are politicallly motivated. The
Centre is trying its best to mitigate the hardship of the
common people through various measures to check the price
rise but the state government has failed to discharge
its responsibility in the matter", he said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 21:54