Adhir Ranjan resigns as Bengal Cong committee chief

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has stepped down as president of the West Bengal Congress committee, Ghulam Ahmed Mir, AICC general secretary in charge of West Bengal said. Chowdhury resigned after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge met senior functionaries from West Bengal in Delhi to select the next state president. Chowdhury, who won Murshidabad district’s s seat five times since 1999, was defeated in the recent Lok Sabha election by former Indian cricketer Yusuf Pathan fielded by Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee. AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal had earlier asked senior state leaders to convey their opinions on the leadership issue through mails or text messages. Chowdhury and other Congress leaders were asked to be present in the meeting. The party will soon announce the name of the next Bengal unit president, state Congress leaders said.