‘Party lacks direction’: Sankar Malakar quits Congress, joins TMC in Darjeeling

Sankar Malakar, a two-term MLA from Matigara-Naxalbari and seasoned Congress member, switched to Trinamool on Wednesday, declaring that the TMC, led by CM Mamata Banerjee, is the sole party in Bengal opposing BJP’s communal agenda. Malakar, who led Congress in Darjeeling for two decades, is the second prominent opposition figure from north Bengal to join TMC before the assembly elections. Ex-Union minister John Barla switched from BJP to TMC last month. Similar to Barla, Malakar possesses considerable sway in the SC/ST regions of north Bengal.

Flanked by TMC state president Subrata Bakshi and state power minister Aroop Biswas (the party’s north Bengal minder), the 70-year-old Malakar told reporters: “Since 2014, when BJP came to office in Centre, the saffron party has been trying to tempt the people of north Bengal with promises of Kamtapur and Gorkhaland. BJP says that north Bengal should split. It deceives the region’s simple people.”

On his decision to sever his decades-old Congress ties, Malakar said, “Congress today lacks direction and local connect in Bengal. As someone who has worked in grassroots for decades, I could no longer ignore the growing discontent.” Malakar won the Matigara-Naxalbari seat in 2011 and 2016. However, his 45% plus vote share in 2011 and 2016 dipped below 10% in 2021, with BJP comfortably winning the seat. In 2019, Malakar had contested the Lok Sabha polls from Darjeeling but lost to BJP’s Raju Bista.

Anticipating his departure, Bengal Congress dismissed Malakar, with party president Subhankar Sarkar quickly restructuring the district unit. Subin Bhowmik was appointed as the Darjeeling coordinator, assisted by Amitabha Sarkar, Jiban Majumdar, and Alokesh Chakraborty as co-coordinators. Malakar, on the other hand, asserted that he had sent his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge through email and WhatsApp.

Anticipating his departure, Bengal Congress dismissed Malakar, with party president Subhankar Sarkar quickly restructuring the district unit. Subin Bhowmik was appointed as the Darjeeling coordinator, assisted by Amitabha Sarkar, Jiban Majumdar, and Alokesh Chakraborty as co-coordinators. Malakar, on the other hand, asserted that he had sent his resignation to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge through email and WhatsApp.

Malakar hinted that, following his lead, other local Congress workers will also defect to TMC. “The chairman of the Sevadal, the president of Chhatra Parishad, and many others have come with me. We are confident that in the coming days, we will defeat BJP in Matigara. I was an (AICC) North Bengal observer for 15 years. I know no one can match Mamata Banerjee’s development work… Today, Congress has three percent of the vote. This vote is not enough to defeat anyone,” he claimed.

Biswas said: “Our party leadership will take decisions about the work he (Malakar) will be assigned. As foot soldiers, we cannot comment. However, we are not asking anyone to join TMC. We are not breaking any party. However, there’s some swing and more wickets like this will come.”