Isha Khan Chowdhury, last flag bearer of the Congress in Malda, is contesting from the Malda Dakshin constituency, which his family has held for the past five decades.
His father Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury had represented the seat for the past three terms since 2009 and prior to this, his uncle and veteran Congress leader ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury had represented the constituency since the 1980s.
During the heat of the election campaign, Mr. Khan Chowdhury does not mind being called the “last flag bearer of the Congress from the Ghani Khan family”. Two of his other family members, cousin Mausam Benazir Noor and uncle Abu Naser Khan Chowdhury, have switched sides to the Trinamool Congress.
“The Trinamool Congress [TMC] might be a secular party but the problem is that it is embroiled in so many scams. These are not accusations by political parties anymore. It is in public domain and even the [Calcutta] High Court is commenting on this,” Mr. Khan Chowdhury told The Hindu.
The former Congress MLA, who is locked in a triangular contest with the BJP’s Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury and TMC candidate Shahnawaz Ali Rehan, says he does not want to get the taint of being associated with the TMC. He has also represented his party in the West Bengal Assembly for 10 years, and was MLA from Baishnabnangar from 2011-2016 and the Sujapur constituency from 2016-21. “We come from a secular family and we are proud to be associated with a secular party,” he said.
In 2021, the TMC swept the Assembly polls and the Congress leader lost the election. Out of the seven Assembly seats in the constituency, six were won by the TMC and Sreerupa Mitra Chowdhury won from the Englishbazar seat. Mr. Khan Chowdhury blames the polarisation by the TMC and the BJP on the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens for his loss in the 2021 Assembly polls.
‘Political tactic’
“The shock we received in 2021 was because of the polarisation in CAA-NRC. Minorities have become a bit wise since 2021. People are saying that we are not fools and not scared of CAA-NRC anymore. They realise it is a political tactic both by the TMC and the BJP,” the Congress candidate from Malda Dakshin said.
On the TMC walking out of the INDIA alliance in West Bengal, the 52-year-old Congress leader said people had understood what the plans of the TMC leadership were on fighting the BJP. “First they [TMC leadership] held meetings in the INDIA alliance then they walked out of it. Why did they join the alliance when they had to walk out,” Mr. Khan Chowdhury said, adding that the TMC was never about joining the INDIA alliance.
Mr. Khan Chowdhury feels that there is a chance for the Congress to stand up on its feet in West Bengal as there is a lot of anti-incumbency against the TMC in the State, particularly because of the allegations of corruption.
“Our party has been weakened because Mamata [Banerjee] has systematically targeted our party. The MLAs have been targeted, giving money and lodging cases against them. Despite so much targeting, we are still here” the Congress candidate said.
