Should have aligned with TMC in West Bengal elections, says Congress leader Veerappa Moily
Bengaluru, May 19: Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said his party should have struck an alliance with Mamata Banerjee's TMC in the recent West Bengal elections, even as he expressed anguish over "ad- hocism" in the grand old outfit.
The former Union Minister also sought action against West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the poll debacle in the state, describing him as a "weak leader with no grass-root touch".
In an interview to PTI, Moily cited wrong selection of alliance for the "wipe-out" of the party in the state, where it had aligned with the Left and the Indian Secular Front.
Referring to Banerjee as "our lady" -- she was with the Congress before floating TMC, he said his party could have had "better liaison" with her despite the fact that "she may have taken our MLAs (earlier)".
"When she is fighting against the BJP, our right partner would have been Mamata", Moily, a former Karnataka Chief Minister, said.
Attacking Choudhury, Moily said he has no "grass-root touch" and is "credited as a leader only for using abusive words against Mamata Banerjee.
"That was not appreciated by people and our cadre.
Even our own voters shifted away to Mamata in our strongholds where traditionally Congress used to get elected", he said.
"And the man (Choudhury) is not punished. He continues to be PCC president, and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha.
Who will care for the party if you don't take action and make them accountable?", Moily asked.
He was also unsparing in criticism of his party over election strategy, made a strong pitch for developing regional leadership and indicated that failure to project Chief Ministerial candidates in Assembly elections in Assam and Kerala cost the Congress dearly.
Making no secret of his displeasure, Moily said the Congress tends to make the same mistakes in selection of candidates in elections.
"We select our leaders in various States depending on their ability to raising cash (resources) and capable of mobilising their respective caste.
I don't think the Congress can win elections like this," he said.
Moily was of the view that people no longer vote for a party looking at its central leadership; they want to know their Chief Ministerial candidate.
In Kerala elections for example, the Congress was confused about selection of Chief Ministerial face and people backed Pinarayi Vijayan again, according to him.
Also in Assam, the Congress did not project any Chief Ministerial face.
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress jumps for one alliance to another (with DMK) but makes no effort to strengthen the party organisation after elections, he said.
The Congress "threw away" too many seats to its alliance partner DMK in Puducherry, where that party had "not much presence".
On Assembly election setbacks in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, Moily said somebody should be made accountable at the AICC and State levels.
"Election management machinery.. right from AICC to both level.. is not done in Congress. Everything is done with ad- hocism", he lamented.
On lessons that the Congress should learn from the poll debacles, Moily said the party has to be revamped from the booth to top level.
"Ad-hocism will not take you anywhere.. facing a strong ruling party like the BJP. And we have to strengthen regional leadership", he suggested.
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
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— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
