The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC), formerly known as the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee in Colonial India, is the unit of the Indian National Congress for the state of West Bengal. It is responsible for the organization and management of the party's activities and campaigns in the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. The current president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee is Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also a Member of Parliament from Berhampore in West Bengal.
Chief Ministers
There were four Chief Ministers of West Bengal from the Congress party: Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (1947-1948;1967-1968). Bidhan Chandra Roy (1948-1962). Prafulla Chandra Sen (1962-1967). Siddhartha Shankar Ray (1972-1977).
The Congress Party was popular in West Bengal from the beginning till the late 1970s. The party was voted out of power in 1977 due to the Emergency. After that, they played the role of the opposition during the Left Front regime. The party suffered a big blow when Mamata Banerjee left the Congress and founded the breakaway party of Trinamool Congress (TMC). This led to exodus of the party members to the TMC and demise of the Congress Party. The party further declined due to the rise of the BJP in West Bengal is the mid 2010s, relegating the party to a mere third-party status in the state. In the Legislative Assembly election in 2021, for the first time the party drew blank and failed to win a single seat in the assembly.