Congress fights for political existence in Bengal

, Mar 31: Weakened and bruised by the migration of its leaders and workers to Mamata Banerjee's TMC, the

is fighting a battle for its political existence in

.

None other than Pradip Bhattacharya, who was very recently replaced as the Bengal Congress chief, said, "It is a fight to prove our political existence in Bengal and to prove that the 129-year-old party will not turn into a 'signboard' as is being claimed by the TMC.

" This election will also prove a litmus test for the Congress whether its ability to bite into the anti-Left vote pie still holds true, Bhattacharya thinks. "This Lok Sabha election will prove that without the Congress, the Trinamool Congress too won't be able to make any mark against the Left as it is the combined vote share of the two parties that catapulted Mamata Banerjee to power," Bhattacharya, MP, pointed out.

The Congress lost its pre-eminent position on the Bengal stage after it was humbled in the 1977 Assembly poll by the Left Front. People became disenchanted with the party which was riven by dissension and squabbling.

It reached a climax when Youth Congress chief Mamata Banerjee broke away to form her own party Trinamool Congress in 1998, dealing a body blow to the organisation. A major chunk of the anti-Left votes was garnered by the TMC which became the principal opposition party.

It ultimately ousted the Left Front from power in 2011 riding on the deftly-organised anti-land acquisition movement.

Ironically, the state Congress suffered further erosion in its credibility when the Left supported the Congress-led UPA government. Its strength was reduced to such an extent that it ceased to exist politically in south Bengal and managed to retain its position in the north Bengal districts of Malda, Murshidabad and some pockets in the region.

However, according to state Congress leaders, the party high command's decision to forge alliance with the TMC on the latter's terms to oust the Left Front in the 2009 Lok Sabha and 2011 Assembly polls that dealt a massive blow to the party.

PTI