Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's scheduled visit to Kolkata on April 23 was cancelled, highlighting ongoing friction between the Congress party and West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The Congress party alleged that the TMC-led state government created obstacles for the event. In response, senior TMC minister Firhad Hakim stated that the cancellation was due to the party not securing mandatory permissions from the Election Commission of India, as the state is under the Model Code of Conduct for ongoing elections.
According to reports, the Congress had planned a rally at the Brigade Parade Ground. The TMC, which is also part of the opposition INDIA bloc at the national level, has a strained relationship with the Congress in West Bengal, where they are direct political rivals. The cancellation comes amid the multi-phase Lok Sabha elections.
No new date for Rahul Gandhi's visit has been announced. The incident underscores the complex alliance dynamics within the opposition coalition, where national partnerships often clash with state-level political competition.
