Kolkata, April 16: Just a week before the first phase of voting in the West Bengal Assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has suffered a significant blow. Senior MLA Abdur Razzaq Mandal from the Janghali constituency in Murshidabad district announced his resignation from the party on Thursday.
Razzaq held a press conference at his legislative office in Kontabadi, where he declared his decision to sever all ties with the TMC. He accused TMC candidate Soumik Hussain from Raninagar of internal conspiracies that prevented him from contesting the elections from Janghali.
He claimed that Hussain aims to establish dominance in the Domkal subdivision, which led to his denial of a ticket. Razzaq asserted that the TMC would face defeat in all three seats of the Domkal subdivision.
In response, Hussain dismissed these allegations, stating, “I am not the one who grants tickets. He is making these claims out of vengeance since he did not receive a ticket this time.”
Despite expressing no personal sorrow over the ticket denial, Razzaq mentioned feeling hurt by comments from the party’s top leadership. He alleged that party leader Abhishek Banerjee referred to corruption charges against him during a recent rally in Janghali, damaging his 43-year political reputation.
Razzaq questioned who made these accusations against him and why he was defamed without any discussion. He decided to leave the party due to his inability to accept the situation. “Now, I want to live as an ordinary citizen,” he stated.
During the press conference, he also claimed that TMC candidates would lose in the upcoming elections and expressed concern that he might be blamed for these defeats, which contributed to his decision to resign.
However, Razzaq clarified that he is not retiring from politics. He hinted at the possibility of joining another party in the future but stated he would not do so before the assembly elections.
“I will vote as an ordinary voter. I can vote for TMC or any other party,” he remarked.
Razzaq also expressed skepticism about the election results in the state and criticized the decision to field ‘outsider’ candidates in Janghali, Domkal, and Raninagar. According to him, strong local candidates create a robust voter base, which the party has overlooked.
He further expressed frustration over not being included in any election committee, which was a significant reason for his departure from the party.
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