Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s visit to West Bengal to campaign ahead of the first phase of elections on April 23 shows the party’s intent to mobilise its party workers. The party is looking to instil confidence among its workers even as the two major parties—the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the BJP—fight it out, and make a place for itself as a formidable player in future elections.
While the focus of Rahul Gandhi’s speeches was on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and national issues, the Congress leader did attempt to kill two birds with one stone by attacking the TMC and BJP “TMC is giving BJP an opportunity in Bengal. The BJP does not give money to TMC, they did not give them ₹2 lakh crore,” said Rahul Gandhi during his public rally in Raigunj in Uttar Dinajpur district while speaking about MGNREGA, depriving Bengal of projects in the Union budget, and bringing up the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue.
“They are attacking democracy through SIR. But the Trinamool Congress is busy with its work. They too are not working for Bengal,” said the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, adding that TMC is no less corrupt, as he highlighted issues like the Saradha and Rose Valley chit fund scams.
The Congress leader was focusing on Uttar Dinajpur, Malda, and Murshidabad districts, considered the party's strongholds.
In his Murshidabad speech, he said, “The sad part is, Narendra Modi is doing the SIR, stealing votes, spreading unemployment and hate, making one religion fight against another. Here in Bengal, TMC is not fulfilling its responsibilities. It seems as though TMC is preparing the path for the BJP. TMC also spreads hate. TMC has shut your factories, has made Bengal number one in unemployment.”
The Congress leader also took the opportunity of Ambedkar Jayanti to strike a chord with the public. “This is Ambedkar ji’s photo. He has given his life for the Constitution and brotherhood. Today is his birthday. And people from the BJP, RSS, and Narendra Modi are trying to destroy the Constitution. What happened to you during SIR, with your names getting cut (from the voter list), was against the Constitution. Do not fear, those whose names have been wrongfully cut will be restored by the Congress government. We will make them voters again,” said Gandhi in his Malda speech. The minority-dominated district of Murshidabad has seen the maximum deletions in the under-adjudication category, while Malda comes third. A total of 27 lakh voters’ names were deleted in the under-adjudication category.
Rahul Gandhi coming to West Bengal to campaign for its key candidates is a clear message that the Congress is banking on its Maltipur (Malda district) candidate, Mausam Noor, and Behrampore (Murshidabad district) candidate, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, to win at least two seats with their face value and mass popularity.
“His (Rahul Gandhi’s) visit will rejuvenate the local Congress voters, supporters, and leaders. But the party is only a player in these three key minority districts—Malda, Murshidabad, and Uttar Dinajpur. As far as overall seats are concerned, the Congress did relatively well in 16 assembly constituencies in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, out of which they were leading in some seats and came second in others,” said Professor Maidul Islam, a political science professor at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences. He went on to state that Rahul Gandhi may not have the same mass appeal in West Bengal as he does in Kerala, Karnataka, or Telangana.
“Even if they get three to five seats, or even seven, it would be a very good number. At least they will have some representation in the Assembly, which will further help boost their morale for the next elections, particularly for the 2029 Lok Sabha elections,” added Prof. Islam, who also feels this puts Congress at an advantage to coax TMC to possibly go in for a pre-poll alliance with opposition parties in the next general elections.
The Lok Sabha elections in 2024 saw Isha Khan Chowdhury bagging one Congress seat from Maldaha Dakshin, which has given the party the confidence to fight alone in 294 assembly seats—the first time in three decades. Mausam Noor’s family has a strong presence in the Malda belt, with her uncle A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury having been the railway minister in Indira Gandhi’s government. Noor too has been a Lok Sabha MP. Adhir Chowdhury, meanwhile, has been the Congress leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, making him a strong force for the party.
