Kolkata: Following Adhir Chowdhury's exit as West Bengal PCC chief, the TMC now hopes to strengthen its ties with the Congress under the leadership of its new state president Subhankar Sarkar - known for his moderate approach toward Mamata Banerjee's party.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) is closely monitoring these developments as this could significantly reshape the political landscape ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Sarkar, who assumed office on Sunday, sidestepped questions about Congress's future equations with its electoral allies, the Left Front and the ruling TMC, emphasising that his primary focus is on strengthening the organisation.
While all three parties are part of opposition INDIA bloc at the national level, the Congress-Left alliance opposes both the TMC and the BJP in West Bengal.
"Both the TMC and the Congress are part of the INDIA bloc at the national level. But in West Bengal, due to Adhir Chowdhury, the two parties could not come closer. Now, with Congress having a new state president, we are hopeful that relations with the Congress will improve. Sarkar is a very decent and mature politician," senior TMC MP Sougata Roy told PTI.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly accused Chowdhury of being an "agent of the BJP," a charge he denies by claiming that the TMC functions as a "B-team" of the saffron party on the national stage.
Senior TMC leader and spokesperson Krishanu Mitra said, "Although Congress and TMC are natural allies, it is for the grand old party in Bengal to decide the direction it wants to take. For the last few elections, we have been fighting against all three - BJP, Congress, and the CPI(M) - and emerged victorious."
"The TMC in Bengal has nothing to win or lose by having an alliance with the Congress; rather, it is the Congress that stands to gain. Now, the grand old party has to decide whether they want to remain politically irrelevant by allying with the CPI(M) or stay relevant in state politics," he told PTI.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a triangular contest between the TMC, the Congress-Left alliance, and the BJP resulted in the TMC winning 29 seats, the BJP 12, and the Congress securing one seat in West Bengal.
The TMC had offered the Congress two seats in the state during the Lok Sabha elections, but the party declined, choosing instead to uphold its alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front, with which it contested 12 out of 42 seats.
According to TMC sources, cooperation between the TMC and Congress in the Lok Sabha has sparked hope for a similar understanding in Bengal.
"Ideologically, both the TMC and the Congress are not different. We are alike. But in Bengal, the Congress chose the CPI(M), whom we fought against for more than three decades before ousting them in 2011," another TMC leader noted, adding that the TMC was formed in 1998 as a breakaway faction from the Congress to oppose the CPI(M).
The CPI(M) is cautious about the future of its alliance with the Congress following Chowdhury's departure as state Congress president.
"The electoral understanding was with the Congress, not with any individual. Who becomes the next Congress president is irrelevant. Chowdhury played a key role in fighting for secular and democratic rights in Bengal alongside the Left. We can't speculate on what stand the party will now take in Bengal," CPI(M) state secretary Mohammed Salim told PTI.
However, another Left Front leader, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed concern that the ongoing Left-Congress alliance might be jeopardised if the Congress moves closer to the TMC in Bengal.
"If the Congress leadership hopes to inch closer towards the TMC, the Left-Congress alliance will fall apart in Bengal, as we can't align with the TMC," he said.
Asked if the party's political stance in Bengal would change with the PCC having a new chief, a senior Congress leader, who did not wish to be named, said Sarkar's elevation as state chief is an indication from the high command that it wants to keep the TMC in good humour.
"Given the political situation in the country, our high command doesn't want to antagonise the TMC and Mamata Banerjee. It is quite likely that the state Congress subsequently won't be as vocal as it used to be during Chowdhury's tenure," he said.