A day after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee virtually slammed the door on an INDIA alliance in Bengal and Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered West Bengal from neighbouring Assam in the morning, party leader Rahul Gandhi decided to fly back to Delhi in the afternoon. Rahul left for Delhi on a special flight. Although the exact reason for his air dash is not known, there was a buzz in the state unit of the party that the departure followed an urgent call from his mother, Sonia Gandhi. Rumours are also swirling about the sudden deterioration in the medical condition of Sonia Gandhi. However, an All India Congress Committee spokesman confirmed that Rahul Gandhi will be back in the state on Sunday morning and join the Yatra team at Falakata in Alipurduar district.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury welcomed Rahul in Bengal
Rahul was welcomed by senior Congress leaders, including the state unit chief and five-time Lok Sabha MP, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, whom TMC chief spokesperson Derek O'Brien blamed as "the reason for the alliance not working out in West Bengal," he told the media in Delhi. To add to the Congress' discomfort, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has made an official announcement stating that her party would go solo in all the 42 Parliamentary seats in West Bengal in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury speaks the language of the BJP, claims Kunal Ghosh
The CPI(M) leadership, meanwhile, has confirmed its participation in the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. Aritra Singha adds from Kolkata that TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh have claimed that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury is speaking the language of the BJP. "We have never abused any leader of the Congress, but Chowdhury has time and again spoken against Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and the TMC. He is speaking the language of the BJP. There is a limit to everything," said Ghosh.
Referring to the ED raids in Bengal, Derek added, "Chowdhury feels very happy when ED conducts these raids. He speaks against the TMC. It is his voice but it is being doctored by Delhi. If the Congress can fulfil its claims and defeat BJP in substantial seats then TMC will think of an alliance after elections."
