Congress Screening Committee Chairman for Bengal says decision on alliance in poll-bound state soon

Kolkata, Jan 11 Chairman of Congress Screening Committee (West Bengal), B.K. Hariprasad on Sunday said the first meeting of the screening committee was held on Sunday, and the party's high command will soon hold a meeting with West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) leadership to finalise the upcoming Assembly poll strategy.

Speaking to IANS, Hariprasad said, "This was our first meeting to decide the next steps. We will coordinate with the Bengal in-charge and state president before visiting Bengal and finalising the process."

On January 4, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) declared B.K. Hariprasad as the West Bengal screening committee's chairperson in view of the Assembly polls in the state.

Since the formation of the committee, the first meeting was held on Sunday.

When asked to comment on the number of seats on which the party will contest and a possible alliance partner in the state, Hariprasad said, "All decisions will be taken by Gulam Mir, who is the in-charge secretary, and after that, we will proceed accordingly."

In the 2021 Bengal Assembly polls, Congress had contested the polls in alliance with Left Front and Indian Secular Front (ISF). However, the party failed to win a single seat in the 294-seat West Bengal Assembly polls. Following the poll debacle, Congress and Left Front decided to part ways and contested the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in the state separately.

Till now, there have been no concrete talks with the Left Front leaders regarding the electoral alliance for the upcoming Assembly polls. The WBPCC leadership is awaiting a direction from the party's high command before entering into formal talks with any parties.

It may be noted that on January 7, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge appointed its leaders as AICC Senior Observers for the forthcoming Assembly elections in poll-bound states of Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal with immediate effect. For the Assembly polls in West Bengal, the party appointed Sudip Roy Barman, Shakeel Ahmad Khan and Prakash Joshi as senior observers.

The appointments of senior leaders for the upcoming Assembly elections assume significance as the party is looking to regain the ground it lost in previous elections. After failing to make an impact in the Bihar Assembly polls, the party is looking for some electoral victories in the upcoming elections.

Meanwhile, on RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement, Hariprasad said, "For 500 or even 700 years, Mughal rule existed, and for 200 years, the British ruled, yet Hindus were never in danger. Since the formation of the RSS, Hindus have been made to feel they are in danger."

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