Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, the Congress Member of Parliament from South Malda and the younger brother of the legendary Congress leader, the Late ABA Ghanikhan Choudhury, has said that he would support the Trinamul Congress “on philosophical grounds” and if such a situation arises.

According to Khan Choudhury, who is also the district president of the Congress, the BJP is a communal force and that he would prefer to join hands with the TMC even though the alliance among the Congress, CPI-M, and the ISF called the ‘Samyukta Morcha’ is said to be against the TMC and the BJP both.

He also termed the CPIM’s joining hands with ‘Pirzada’ Abbas Siddiqui as that party’s sole decision, and that the Congress had no role or support in it. “I do not like the ways of Abbas, for there are certain places of preaching ‘Allah hu Akbar’ than in a political meeting,” Khan Choudhury said today.

On the other hand, some political observers and CPIM leaders in Malda district are looking at Khan Choudhury’s statements as a tactic to consolidate Muslim votes in favour of the Congress, defying the TMC, which according to him, would have support from the Congress in need.

District TMC leaders, meanwhile, welcomed such a thought, while the BJP termed it an ‘unholy ‘ alliance with a secret understanding with the TMC. District secretary of the CPI-M, Ambar Mitra, refused to comment on it.

“Philosophically, the TMC is preferable than the BJP because TMC is ‘non-communal’ and I would support them if the situation arises. The communal cards played by the BJP will not be fruitful here in Bengal. We couldn’t ally with the TMC for their misbehavior at us,” said Khan Choudhury at his residence at Kotwali under the English Bazaar police station. On ISF chief Abbas Siddiqui, he said, “I don’t like his way of talking and there are certain places to preach Allah Hu Akbar than in a political gathering and we don’t like it at all, whoever promotes communalism. We allied with the CPI-M and then the CPIM held hands of Abbas, not us, which we didn’t like. CPIM perhaps did it out of fear of coming up with very poor results in the elections and to manage some seats with the help of the ISF.”

A district CPI-M leader said, “It might be a tactic of Daluda (Mr Khan Choudhury) to attract Muslim votes in favour of the Congress from the TMC and to stop the BJP from taking advantage of the shared votes.”

The state vice president of the BJP, Biswapriya Roychoudhury, termed the alliance as ‘unholy’ and said, “It is very clear now that the Congress, CPI-M and communal forces in the shape of Abbas Siddiqui are together having a secret agenda to help the TMC against the BJP, which will not be successful, as people have already seen their true faces without a mask of secularism.”

According to senior political observers of North Bengal, Khan Choudhury, through his statements, tried deftly to keep a balance of securing Muslim votes on the Congress side and stop draining of Hindu votes from the Congress camp by condemning ‘Pirzada’ for preaching ‘Allah hu Akbar.’

TMC district chairman and an election candidate for the English Bazaar seat, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, said, “We have to fight against the BJP and their communal agenda collectively. Khan Choudhury has no alternative but to lend support to the TMC.”