Congress appoints Subhankar Sarkar as new president of Bengal unit

Subhankar Sarkar, previously serving as Secretary for the All India Congress Committee (AICC), has been named the new president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, succeeding Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal issued the formal announcement, confirming Sarkar’s appointment with immediate effect.

Sarkar had been overseeing Congress activities in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Mizoram as AICC Secretary before taking on this new responsibility. His appointment follows an internal restructuring process within the party, which began during a June 21 meeting in Kolkata. This meeting, attended by Ghulam Ahmad Mir, the Bengal Congress in-charge, along with other party officials, saw the passage of a resolution to dissolve the state unit’s working committee, including the president’s post.

Although Chowdhury had resigned after the Lok Sabha elections, he expressed discontent with how the transition was managed, stating that he wasn’t formally informed about his removal. He also highlighted that after Mallikarjun Kharge was elected as Congress president, all party positions, including his own, became temporary as per the party’s constitution.

The Congress high command sought input from state leaders regarding the importance of maintaining a balance in their relationship with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) at both the state and national levels. This was particularly relevant as Chowdhury had previously voiced differing opinions on Congress-TMC coordination.