West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) President Subhankar Sarkar on Friday, 10 July alleged that the deepening factionalism within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is not organic dissent but a deliberate Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strategy to engineer a 'shadow opposition' in West Bengal — one that would, in his words, 'actually operate as per the instructions of the ruling party in the state.'

Congress Charges: TMC and BJP Two Sides of the Same Coin

Sarkar argued that the BJP's underlying objective is to keep the TMC politically relevant in West Bengal specifically to marginalise the Congress. 'Previously we used to say that Trinamool Congress and the BJP were two sides of the same coin. Our conjecture was clear after the West Bengal Assembly election results,' he said. He contended that the BJP is acutely aware that the Congress is 'non-compromising as regards to opposing the saffron forces,' making it the primary target of this alleged strategy.

Sarkar also signalled that the TMC's landslide defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections had created political space for the Congress to rebuild its organisational base in the state. He asserted that only the Congress could 'ensure the freedom and protection of the fundamental rights of people in the state.'

Rahul Gandhi Cited as Congress's National Face

The WBPCC president invoked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the sole 'non-compromising face nationally' against what he described as saffron forces. 'So naturally in the present political situation in the state, Congress' popularity graph is bound to rise,' Sarkar added, framing the party's revival in Bengal as part of a broader national trajectory.

Rajya Sabha Nominations Cited as Evidence of BJP-TMC Nexus

Sarkar pointed to the BJP's decision to nominate three former TMC leaders — Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik — as its candidates for the by-elections to the three Rajya Sabha seats vacated by the same trio last month. He called this 'an example of how the saffron forces have planted moles in the Trinamool Congress for a long time,' arguing the nominations exposed a long-running infiltration strategy rather than a recent political realignment.

Encounter Killing of Rape Accused Draws Condemnation

Sarkar also used the occasion to condemn the recent encounter killing of Pravas Mondal, identified as a prime accused in the alleged rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district. 'Such an encounter death means that the accused will have no future chance of proving him innocent, which is must in the judicial system,' he said. While acknowledging that crimes against women must be dealt with severely, Sarkar insisted the response must remain 'within the legal framework of the country.'

The remarks reflect a Congress effort to simultaneously challenge both the BJP and the TMC on political and civil-liberties grounds, as the party attempts to reclaim ground in a state where it has been marginalised for over a decade. How these allegations land with Bengal's electorate — still processing a dramatic Assembly verdict — will shape the Congress's organisational push in the months ahead.