KOLKATA: West Bengal Congress wants to go on their own instead of joining an alliance not on their own terms. The party, which convened a two-day workers’ meet on Tuesday, will launch a campaign against the TMC in the state and BJP at the center from a rally on December 12 at the Rani Rashmani Road.“We do not want to remain a parasite and join an alliance. Congress in Bengal needs to stand on its own,” said PCC chief Somen Mitra . Starting from Tuesday, the state Congress leaders will hold a two-day meeting with the party workers at the Bidhan Bhavan.“Frankly, we do not have the strength to arrange a brigade rally now and we do not want to deceive ourselves. On the other hand, we do not want to risk its existence just for the sake of forging an alliance,” Mitra said.State Congress leaders claimed that party president Rahul Gandhi wanted a reality check of their strength in the state and preferred a bottom up approach this time ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Majority of the Congress workers, already under attack from the TMC workers since the panchayat polls, spoke in favour of going alone till the party manages to marshal strength in the state.Congress leaders will organise a meeting at Rani Rashmoni Road on December 12 against the policies of the BJP at the center and TMC in the state.“Workers have been asked to reorganise themselves before that. It will be an acid test before the Lok Sabha campaign kicks off,” said a Congress leader.At the PCC meeting chaired by party's state observer Gaurav Gogoi, party workers voiced their concerns about the attacks on them during and after the panchayat polls. “Gogoi has made it clear that local protests need to be organised if party workers are being attacked,” said a Congress leader.Meanwhile, a very thin presence of the Trinamool leaders at the all-party programme convened by the Congress against Rafale deal and demonetisation has not gone down well with Rahul Gandhi. “Trinamool Congress has gradually weakened our strength in the state by defecting our elected leaders,” Mitra said.Congress leader from Malda Mausam Benazir Noor said that they will act according to the high command’s decision. “We have voiced our concerns before. A grand alliance is being mooted to defeat the BJP and that alliance is open to like-minded parties,” she said. Both Noor and Malda Dakshin MP Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury said that 2019 Lok Sabha election is a crucial juncture and a coordinated approach is required to stop the BJP.Refusing to accept a growing religious polarisation in the state, Mitra said that there is no reason to take BJP’s Rath Yatra seriously. “We have seen Advaniji’s Rath Yatra and the effect it had on the Indian polity. Congress has become weak in the state and the Left Front has lost its grip. That has prompted people to tilt towards the BJP,” he said.

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