Kolkata, October 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday invited former Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee to rejoin the Congress along with her remaining MPs and MLAs, while asking her to leave behind what he described as her political “baggage”.
Chowdhury said the Congress would be willing to accept Banerjee’s leadership in West Bengal if she returned to the party.
“Mamata Banerjee will take the right decision if she joins Congress directly with the existing MPs and MLAs who are still loyal to her. We will accept it,” he told reporters.
He added that there was no need for Banerjee to continue with a separate political entity and urged her to join the Congress “leaving behind the ‘baggage’”.
Chowdhury did not specify whom or what he meant by the term “baggage”. However, the remark has been interpreted in political circles as an apparent reference to TMC national general secretary and Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. Chowdhury has publicly opposed Mamata Banerjee for much of his political career.
The Congress leader’s remarks came a day after Banerjee participated in the INDIA bloc meeting in New Delhi, where opposition parties discussed coordinated action on issues concerning the Election Commission and electoral rolls. Banerjee had also described the opposition alliance as united.
Banerjee had founded the TMC in 1998 after breaking away from the Congress. Chowdhury’s latest appeal therefore marks a notable political statement from a leader who has traditionally been one of Banerjee’s prominent critics.
Chowdhury’s comments also came amid reported organisational challenges within the TMC. The Congress leader has urged the party’s central leadership to facilitate Banerjee’s return and said Congress workers in Bengal would be prepared to work under her leadership.
There was no immediate reaction from Mamata Banerjee or her faction of the TMC to Chowdhury’s remarks.
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