Rahul ‘angry’ with AH Khan Choudhury over Mothabari dissident candidate

manas ranjan banerjee
SILIGURI, 11 APRIL: The heads might roll in the Malda district Congress after the Assembly elections as the AICC general secretary, Mr Rahul Gandhi, is supposedly angry with the district Congress president, Mr AH Khan Choudhury, for propping up a dissident candidate against the party High Command-approved candidate at Mothabari constituency.
According to a Youth Congress leader, Mr Baptu Chakarborty, Mr Gandhi has taken a serious note of the matter. “Mr Gandhi expected Mr Khan Chaudhury to dissuade the dissident candidate and his niece, Mrs Shenaz Quadery. But she remains in the fray against the Opposition-alliance-backed Congress candidate, Mrs Sabina Yeasmin, who is also the district Youth Congress president,” he said.
Notably, the Youth Congress has fielded its followers in seven out of the 65 seats allotted to the party in the state following the seat-sharing arrangement with the Tirnamul Congress. Mrs Yeasmin is one of them. She belongs to the faction being led by Mrs Mausam Noor, who is also the state Youth Congress president. Mrs Noor is known for her proximity to Mr Gandhi.
The party activists close to Mr Khan Chaudhury looked worried over his political future with his intransigent posturing regarding the Mothabari-candidature having won ire of Mr Gandhi.  “We are particularly worried as Mr Khan Chaudhury keeps telling people that he would be inducted in the Union ministry following the start of the Assembly elections. The mistake might cost him dear in the coming days,” one such district Congress activist said.
“The history might repeat itself for the district. The political future of the legendary Ghani Khan Chaudhury turned bleak following a trifle involving the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. He was thrown out of the Union cabinet and he was not re-inducted since. The same predicament might befall his younger brother for his impetuous stubbornness regarding the candidature at the Mothabari constituency. He should have taken action against his niece, Mrs Shenaz Quedery. Maybe, his affection for her would prove his nemesis,” said a senior Malda district Congress member.