Mamata Banerjee announces major rejig in TMC ahead of 2021 Bengal polls, includes ex-Maoist in the state committee

Mamata Banerjee announces major rejig in TMC ahead of 2021 Bengal polls, includes ex-Maoist in the state committee

  

                   

Biswabrata Goswami

Hummingbird News

KRISHNAGAR, 23 JULY: Ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul Congress suprimo Mamata Banerjee, today, made a major rejig in her party’s organizational posts.

With this announcement all the incumbent district units stands dissolved with immediate effect. Also, all other ad-hoc appointments done at district level and below stands absolved with immediate effect.

The newly appointed district office bearers shall form district, block and other relevant committees for their respective districts in consultation with the state coordination committee and share the same with the convener of the state coordination committee within seven days for approval of the chairperson of the party.

Spiralling protests over Amphan relief fund irregularities had already plagued the state’s incumbent formation with many senior-level leaders in the districts getting embroiled in the controversy. Be it distribution of food grains and tarpaulin in cyclone-ravaged pockets of Sunderbans or inclusion of ghost names in the list of beneficiaries – Trinamul Congress’ name cropped up almost everywhere.

To troubleshoot the party’s image in run up to the next year’s elections, Miss Banerjee made a number of changes in the Trinamul Congress from its core committee members to district presidents.

Announcing a major rejig, the West Bengal CM gave more priorities to younger and new faces in the party’s forefront that are relatively clean as far as their political image is concerned. She announced a new state committee with 21 members in it and a seven-member steering committee of the state coordination committee that included names of Abhishek Banerjee, Subhendu Adhikari, Partha Chatterjee, Subrata Bakshi (convenor), Firhad Hakim, Kalyan Banerjee and Shanta Chetri.

Besides this, the presidents of several districts including Howrah, Coochbehar, Purulia, Nadia, Jhargram and South Dinajpur were also removed.

New and younger faces such as Laxmi Ratan Shukla in Howrah, Mahua Moitra in Nadia, Dulal Murmu in Jhargram, Gurupad Tudu in Purulia and Shyamal Santra in Bankura have been given charge of the districts.

Interestingly, former People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) leader from Maoist-hit Lalgarh Chatradhar Mahato was included in the Trinamul state committee along with Churamoni Mahato and Sukumar Hnasda. Mahato was a prominent ultra-Left leader who gained prominence following the Salboni blast in November 2008. In 2020 he joined Trinamul Congress after being released from jail recently.

Sources in the party said that giving importance to Mahato at the state level can turn out to be Mamata’s political masterstroke ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls. Mahato who was convicted under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2015, will help Mamata to control the dreaded western region of Bengal known as Junglemahal – an imaginary belt now comprising four districts of Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and West Midnapore.