A day after promising to field its candidate against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Bhabanipur bypoll, the Congress on Tuesday took a U-turn over its stand and said the party will not pit anybody against the Trinamool Congress supremo.
As instructed by the AICC, the Congress will neither field any candidate opposite Banerjee nor campaign against her in the run-up to the September 30 bypoll, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told reporters in Baharampur.
On Monday, Chowdhury had told reporters that the Congress would field a candidate against Banerjee in Bhabanipur, claiming that the majority of PCC members were in favour of such a decision.
Two months ago, Chowdhury had advocated not fielding any candidate against the chief minister out of political courtesy.
also read
- 'You can kill me...you tried to kill Abhishek Banerjee': Mamata slams BJP over alleged murder plot
- West Bengal Ram Navami clashes: Suvendu Adhikari demands NIA probe, EC action against Mamata
- Will not implement Uniform Civil Code, CAA and NRC in West Bengal: CM Mamata
- ‘NIA officials attacked villagers, not other way round,’ says West Bengal CM Mamata
- ‘One can trust a poisonous snake but not BJP,’ says Mamata Banerjee
Reacting to the AICC decision, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, "We will field a candidate as those opposed to the TMC and BJP needed an alternative. We cannot ask the Congress to change its decision."
