TMC rift fear over civic posts - Mamata asks leaders to select municipality chiefs

TT, May 7: Mamata Banerjee's decision to delegate the task of selecting chairpersons of five municipalities won by the Trinamul Congress in north Bengal to party leaders has triggered fears of intense lobbying and dissension within the organisation for the posts.

The Trinamul chief was expected to announce the names of chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of different municipalities won by the party in Calcutta yesterday. However, she chose only the chairman and vice-chairman of Gangarampur municipality in South Dinajpur and the chairpersons of Jalpaiguri and Malbazar civic bodies.

The chief minister assigned different leaders with the task of choosing the heads of five other civic bodies. A section of Trinamul leaders apprehends that Mamata's move to refrain from picking the five civic chiefs would revive factionalism and the party would witness a re-run of events like tussles among different lobbies to grab party tickets to contest the municipal polls.

" The Jalpaiguri district president of Trinamul, Sourav Chakraborty, had been even assaulted by party supporters over the selection of candidates. The party chief and state leaders are well aware of sharp differences within the party in each district of north Bengal ahead of the civic polls. It would have been much better if they had made the selection of the civic chief of five municipalities in north. In the current situation, different district presidents of the party will try to push in their own favourites for the positions. There are other lobbies which will not relent and will try hard to install their acolytes in positions," said a Trinamul leader who didn't want to be named.

In Cooch Behar district, multiple names are being propped up for the posts of chairman and vice-chairman for Cooch Behar, Mathabhanga and Tufanganj municipalities.

For Mathabhanga, Cooch Behar district Trinamul president Rabindranath Ghosh and forest minister Binoy Krishna Burman, have been asked to make the selection jointly.

"Ghosh wants Chandan Das as the chairman, while Burman has his own candidates. Ghosh and Arghya Roy Pradhan, the Tufanganj MLA, have to jointly make the selection in Tufanganj. Ananta Burma, a lawyer, is being seen as a prospective candidate for the chairman's post. In both the civic bodies, multiple names are being proposed for the vice-chairpersons' posts by different lobbies," said a Trinamul insider.

The situation is similar in Cooch Behar municipality. For selecting the chairman and vice-chairman, the responsibility again lies with Ghosh and Trinamul general secretary Subrata Bakshi. Here, Ghosh wants Subhajit Kundu, the son of former civic chief Biren Kundu, to become the chairman. On the other hand, party leader and councillor Bhusan Singh is eyeing the post. Amina Ahmed, the former vice-chairperson and the wife of Trinamul leader Jalil Ahmed, is also in the race.

"In Cooch Behar, we need at least one Independent's support to form the board. We have 10 seats while the Left has eight and Independents have won two seats. There is a chance that the Independent might ask for the vice-chairman's post," said a Trinamul source.

The district Trinamul president, Ghosh, said he would sit with Binoy Krishna Burman and Subrata Bakshi to make the selection. "There might be different people aspiring for positions. But it would not be a major problem for us to take a decision," said Ghosh.

Mamata has asked MP Subhendu Adhikari to consult with Malda district Trinamul leaders to choose the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of Englishbazar and Old Malda municipalities.

Minister Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury was the chairman of the outgoing board in Englishbazar and he is considered as a strong contender for the post for the next term also.

"As Mamata has made no decision, councillors in the camp of Krishnendu's rival, minister Sabitri Mitra, will oppose his name for the post. For the vice-chairman's post, names of Babla Sarkar and Amlan Bhaduri are making the rounds," said a source in Malda.

In Old Malda, just like Cooch Behar, Trinamul needs the support of an Independent to reach the majority mark. "There are chances that Kartick Ghosh might be chosen as the chairman. However, for the vice-chairman's post, there are contenders like Mafizul Islam and Dipti Chowdhury. Islam rebelled in the party and won as an Independent. He might demand the vice-chairman's post for his support. Altogether, the selection will not be smooth and easy and there can be strong disagreements among leaders," said a party insider.

Moazzem Hossain, the Trinamul district president of Malda, said: "We will form civic boards both in Englishbazar and Old Malda. Subhendu Adhikari will visit Malda soon and we will sit together to select the names."

In Jalpaiguri district, situation is slightly different as Mamata has done half of the work.

"Our party supremo has selected Mohan Bose and Swapan Saha as the new chairmen of Jalpaiguri and Malbazar civic bodies, respectively. Both of them were in the same posts in the previous civic boards," said Sourav Chakraborty, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president. "The vice-chairpersons for both the municipalities would be selected soon."

In Jalpaiguri, contenders for the vice-chairpersons' posts are Saikat Chatterjee, Papia Pal and Sandip Mahato. In Malbazar, names of Pulin Goldar, Utpal Bhaduri and Dipa Sarkar are making the rounds.

The situation is totally different in Gangarampur, where Prasanta Mitra and Amalendu Sarkar have been selected as the chairman and the vice-chairman, respectively.