TMC attacks Adhir over ‘better to vote for BJP’ call

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress on Wednesday accused Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of being the “B-team” of the BJP, after a video, where he was heard saying that voting for BJP is better than voting for the TMC, showed up on the internet.

Commenting on the remark, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the goal of his party is to bring the numbers of the BJP down in West Bengal and that TMC is a part of the INDIA bloc.

The purported video showed Chowdhury, the sitting MP and candidate from West Bengal’s Baharampur, addressing a public meeting and saying “it’s better to vote for the BJP than to vote for the TMC.”

The TMC, which has already been miffed with Chowdhury’s repeated jibes against the party, responded to the video by blaming him for the failure of the seat-sharing talks with Congress and calling him “anti-Bengal.”

In a post on X, the TMC said that after acting as “eyes and ears of BJP in Bengal,” Chowdhury has now been promoted to be the “voice of the BJP in Bengal.”

“Listen to how the B-Team member is openly asking people to vote for the BJP – a party that refused to release Bengal’s rightful due and deprived our people of their rights. Only a Bangla-Birodhi can campaign for the BJP, which has repeatedly insulted Bengal’s icons,” the TMC said.

“On May 13, people of Baharampur will give a befitting response to this betrayal!” it added. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale also attacked the Congress leader over the remarks.

“Finally - from the B-team horse’s mouth! Congress Bengal chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury publicly asks people in his rally to vote for

In Bengal, TMC is INDIA taking on BJP. Meanwhile, Congress and CPM have chosen to become Modi’s loyal soldiers. This is disgusting and beyond shameless

— Saket Gokhale, TMC Rajya Sabha MP

the BJP and not the TMC. While Mamata fights against the full might of Modi+Central agencies machinery, Bengal Congress is openly asking votes for the BJP,” he said in a post on X.

“In Bengal, TMC is INDIA taking on BJP. Meanwhile, Congress and CPM have chosen to become Modi’s loyal soldiers. This is disgusting and beyond shameless,” he said.