West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on March 9 questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frequent visits to the State for poll campaigns, suggesting that if he was confident about the BJP's growing support, such repeated trips wouldn't be necessary.
Speaking to reporters in his Lok Sabha constituency Berhampore ahead of Mr. Modi's scheduled visit to Siliguri, Mr. Chowdhury wondered why the Prime Minister needed to campaign extensively in West Bengal if he was buoyed by the BJP's development works at the Centre.
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Mr. Modi had previously visited southern parts of the State on March 1 and 6, including a rally in Barasat near Kolkata, where he criticised the ruling TMC over the Sandeshkhali issue.
Mr. Chowdhury drew attention to Mr. Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) slogan, suggesting that if he truly believed in it, he wouldn't need frequent visits to the State.
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On delay in seat sharing talks
Regarding the status of seat sharing between the Congress and its alliance partner Left in the INDIA bloc, Mr. Chowdhury acknowledged that preliminary talks had taken place but emphasised that delays were not a cause for concern.
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"It takes time for the central leadership of Congress to assess the situation in each State and discuss it with the concerned units before making decisions," he added.
Mr. Chowdhury assured that announcements regarding seat sharing would be made at the appropriate time, indicating that there was no rush and that Congress was prepared for the upcoming elections. He dismissed suggestions that Congress was in talks with parties like TMC, affirming that their stand remained clear.
Mr. Chowdhury alleged that the TMC was attacking him on two fronts: politically to weaken him and by spreading false information about his performance as an MP, particularly regarding project implementation under MPLAD.
