Taking protests by Trinamool Cong. as a challenge: Adhir
Facing repeated protests and ‘go back’ slogans over the past few days, allegedly by the Trinamool Congress supporters, senior Congress leader and party’s Baharampur Lok Sabha candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday said he accepted these protests as a challenge and would ensure that the TMC drew a blank in Murshidabad district in the polls.
Recently, the vehicle of the ve-term Congress MP was surrounded by a mob in the Nowda area of Murshidabad, where a large group of protesters raised ‘go back’ slogans.
This was not the rst time Mr. Chowdhury had faced protests while campaigning in his constituency. When encountering a similar protest a few days ago, he was caught on camera pushing a Trinamool supporter away. “The Trinamool Congress is trying to stall my election meetings. But they will never succeed. I will not be cowed down by the threats of TMC workers,” he said.
Mr. Chowdhury said that he accepted these protests as a challenge. “I take this as a challenge, Didi, and will ensure that the Trinamool Congress draws a blank in the district,” he said.
The ruling Trinamool Congress has elded former cricketer Yusuf Pathan against Mr. Chowdhury. Reacting to the Congress MP’s statements, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “Mr. Adhir Chowdhury is cornered and has lost his mind.”
The Trinamool leadership had “listed” Mr. Chowdhury as one of the reasons the two parties could not forge an electoral alliance in West Bengal.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Trinamool had won two of the three seats in Murshidabad district — Khalilur Rahaman from Jangipur and Abhu Taher Khan from Murshidabad — and the Congress had secured the third. This time, the Congress has elded two candidates — Mr. Chowdhury from Baharampur and Md. Murtoja Hossain from Jangipur — and its ally CPI(M) has elded Md. Salim from the Murshidabad seat.