New Delhi, April 4 (NationPress) In the midst of the fierce electoral contest in West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress launched strong criticisms against the Congress on Saturday, with the BJP claiming that Congress is merely serving as the ruling party's 'B-team'.

The Trinamool Congress responded sharply to comments made by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury regarding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The West Bengal Assembly elections are set to occur in two phases on April 23 and 29.

BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo accused Chowdhury of urging Muslim voters to back the Trinamool Congress, suggesting that the Congress party lacks a viable path to victory nationally.

"Congress is functioning as Trinamool Congress' 'B team'. In the 2021 Assembly elections, Congress failed to secure even a single seat, and in subsequent by-elections, they may have won one or two seats," he stated in an interview with IANS.

Deo asserted that senior Congress figures are effectively encouraging voters to support the Trinamool Congress in regions where the Congress cannot win.

"Congress has no prospects of winning anywhere. Veteran leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury himself indicates that voters should not vote for us but instead for the Trinamool Congress," the BJP spokesperson remarked.

On the other hand, Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal Minister Shashi Panja accused Chowdhury of harboring animosity towards Chief Minister Banerjee.

Panja told IANS, "It is evident that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury holds much disdain for Mamata Banerjee on a personal level. We do not expect him to express anything positive. He is now engaging in divisive politics, separating people along religious lines. Congratulations to him for that."

Panja's comments followed Chowdhury's statement during a press conference where he claimed that "CM Mamata Banerjee desires communal unrest in Bengal".

Panja further articulated that the Congress party is struggling to define its identity in the election-driven state.

"They are facing an identity crisis," she remarked.

She added, "We perceive the people of Bengal as 'Maa, Maati, Maanush'. The kind of politics that divides on the basis of caste, language, or religion is not practiced by Mamata Banerjee. We (the Trinamool Congress) will reach out to all communities."

Panja, who serves as a Minister in the current West Bengal administration, stated, "If Congress believes it can win the elections single-handedly, the people of Bengal will respond appropriately to that assumption."