Kolkata, Sep 22 (IANS): Congress on Saturday evening appointed Suvankar Sarkar as the new West Bengal Chief, replacing senior leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

“The president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) has been relieved from his chair of AICC secretary. The party appreciates the contributions of the outgoing PCC President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury,” Congress in a statement said.

Senior Congress leader and five-time Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was defeated in the last Lok Sabha elections from his Baharampur constituency in the Murshidabad district by Trinamool’s celebrity candidate and former Indian cricket team player Yusuf Pathan.

The replacement of Chowdhury by Sarkar will pave the way for the Congress high command to establish a friendly and workable equation with the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal.

Chowdhury is a die-hard representative of the anti-Trinamool Congress faction in the state while Sarkar had always maintained a balanced position on the Trinamool.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s differences with the party command had been surfacing for quite some time over the issue of the party’s relationship with Trinamool Congress.

He has always been vocal about having an electoral understanding with CPI(M)-led Left Front.