How Congress’s ‘Robin Hood’ MP Adhir Chowdhury Gives More to BJP, PM Modi than His Party for 2024 Polls

Congress Member of Parliament (MP) and leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury loves a fight. On any given day, you will find him in his constituency, Murshidabad, taking up a fight for his constituents. And usually against the West Bengal state government.

Chowdhury, perhaps, remains one of the few Congress leaders who still openly takes on WB CM and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee, especially after the formation of the opposition allies’ Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) front.

But this is as much his choice as a compulsion.

In a sea of the TMC and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongholds in the state, where the Congress has no assembly seats, the only way Chowdhury can hold his fort and seat is by taking on Banerjee. This is the reason why the TMC, especially Banerjee, often complains about Chowdhury and accuses him of being “a BJP agent". Even more so, as on Chowdhury’s suggestion, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi preferred to align with the Left rather than the TMC, upsetting Banerjee.

THE BENGALI BOND WITH PRANAB MUKHERJEE

Chowdhury’s clout grew in Delhi when Pranab Mukerjee was alive. Pranab’s affinity for the Left over TMC, similar to Chowdhury, brought the two closer. When Mukherjee was the leader of the house during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure, Chowdhury would often be seen walking with a Robin Hood hat and a leather bag into Pranab’s room. The two Bengalis vibed well and this led to the rise in Chowdhury’s stature.

In a twist of fate, Chowdhury has nearly stepped into Pranab’s shoes, when he was made leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, much to chagrin of many Congress leaders.

MODI’S COMMENT ON CHOWDHURY

His poor Hindi and tendency to give long speeches often land him in trouble. His recent gaffes include calling the president “Rashtrapatni" and then on the last day of no-confidence motion, saying that he “has no issues if Narendra Modi becomes the PM for 100 years".

The PM made a special gesture by coming to the Lok Sabha to listen to Chowdhury. Much of the initial speech of the PM had a light banter with Chowdhury, but he also took potshots at the party for “ignoring" Chowdhury. This is no off-the-cuff comment by the PM.

It is planned and deliberate.

GANDHIS’ ENTITLEMENT

The Congress has been accused of ignoring legacies and its own people, from Sardar Patel to Subhash Chandra Bose, to Congress leaders such as Pranab Mukherjee and PV Narasimha Rao.

The PM often makes the point that the Congress cannot look beyond the Gandhis, which is why those who don’t have the surname are often overlooked. The point was made by the PM again when he met BJP MPs recently in one of the cluster meetings.

One of the fulcrums of the BJP and PM’s campaign has been the sense of entitlement of the Gandhis. They have often been accused of not giving others a chance in the party “out of fear that the person may overshadow Rahul Gandhi". Jyotiraditya Scindia said it openly when he left the party.

Chowdhury has now become the fall guy. The “Robin Hood" of his constituency who loves to write poems and watch soccer is now the ball in the 2024 match between the BJP and Congress.