Surjya regains control in dist?

27 December 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 27 DEC: As the CPI-M prepares for the district conference before the scheduled state conference next February, it seems that party state secretariat member and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra, is regaining his hold over the organisation of the district, to which he belongs. For nearly two decades, the district party was dominated by Mr Dipak Sarkar, another state secretariat member.
During the recently-concluded local and zonal committee conferences, Dr Mishra was able to put leaders, belonging to his faction, in secretaries' posts. Now, leaders who are close to Dr Mishra dominate the committees. Several leaders, who belong to Mr Sarkar's lobby, have been removed from the posts.
Mr Sarkar, who masterminded the plans to set up harmad camps in Junglemahal to combat the Maoists, gained wide acceptance within the party. The strategy was, subsequently, criticised by a section of party leadership who alleged that the plan not only put the party in trouble but also helped create a wrong notion among the people. The killing of nine villagers at Netai in Lalgarh had not only exposed the presence of armed CPI-M camps in Lalgarh but also the erstwhile Left Front government’s surrender to the party at the grassroots.
Former minister Mr Susanta Ghosh, who is now in jail in connection with the Benachapra skeleton recovery case, and Mr Sarkar were the helm of the party in West Midnapore for over 20 years. The district leadership also mounted pressure on the government for help to combat the Maoists. Before the Netai killings, Mr Ghosh had repeatedly claimed in public rallies how his cadres had driven Maoist out of Lalgarh. On New Year’s Eve, local CPI-M activists held a rally in Lalgarh. 
“All these have later gone against Mr Sarkar and Mr Ghosh soon after the Trinamul Congress came to power. Dr Mishra, who once criticised the district leaders, became the Opposition leader in the Assembly and started dominating the committees which were controlled by Mr Sarkar," a party insider said.
According to party leaders, the district conference will be held from 30 January to 1 February. Earlier, it was scheduled to be held in early January, but as the decision on the bail petition of Mr Ghosh in the Supreme Court will be announced on 6 January, the party has deferred the district conference to 30 January. “If Mr Ghosh gets bail from the Supreme Court, his presence in the conference will give an extra zeal among the participants," said a party insider.
Party sources said eight state secretariat members will be present at the district conference and former chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee will address a public rally on 1 February.