Trinamul unity cry to tackle Asok - Party leaders say Deb's call betrays Trinamul's fears about Siliguri mayor

Gautam Deb (in blue blazer) with other Trinamul leaders at the party workers'
meeting in Siliguri on Sunday. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, Feb. 7: Trinamul leader Gautam Deb today gave a call for unity to all party factions and said the CPM's Asok Bhattacharya was not "indomitable", but the statement unwittingly gave away the ruling party's worries about the Siliguri mayor.

Deb, back in political action last month after a recent open-heart heart surgery, today told party workers and elected representatives: "We have to stand united against Asok Bhattacharya and defeat him in the upcoming Assembly polls. He is not indomitable and can be defeated. If I can make a comeback after such a major surgery, together we can also win against him."

At the party meeting at the indoor stadium in Siliguri, 5,000-odd workers of Trinamul, from all 47 wards of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation that are under Siliguri and the Dabgram-Fulbari Assembly constituencies, were present. Also present on the dais were all prominent Trinamul leaders of Siliguri.

On stage with Deb was Ranjan Sarkar, the Darjeeling Trinamul district chief, who in a written statement today accepted that Trinamul leaders in Siliguri "could not achieve our target in two previous elections held in Siliguri subdivision and lost to the CPM. It is really painful and disappointing for us as we could not highlight the elaborate development work carried out in and around Siliguri by the state to garner support from the people. I, however, believe that it is possible if we work together in a united manner."

Deb, who is the north Bengal development minister, was replaced by Sarkar after Trinamul lost the SMC elections to the Left last year. During campaigning for the civic elections, party workers had said that party leaders had campaigned only for candidates from their factions, which portrayed a picture of disunity on the ground.

Also, the Left and the Congress were in a pre-poll understanding-now called the Siliguri model-which helped them defeat Trinamul. Mayor Bhattacharya is seen as the brain behind the understanding.

Since the success of the Left in Siliguri, a section of CPM leaders and grassroots workers in other parts of Bengal had spoken out in favour of an understanding with the Congress for the Assembly polls. The final decision is pending.

While one senior Trinamul leader ridiculed the Left's call for a "people's alliance", some others said it was clear to party leaders that Bhattacharya was the main threat.

"The manner in which Gautam Deb is focusing on Asok Bhattacharya as our principal contender and saying that he should be defeated in the Assembly polls, even though Bhattacharya's name has not yet been declared as a Left candidate, shows the party is really concerned about him," a Trinamul source said.

"Saying that the mayor is not indomitable, shows that Trinamul can read the writing on the wall. The leaders are thus trying to make their best move by calling for unity as multiple lobbies and mutual differences are reasons for the pathetic performance of Trinamul in both the local polls (in the SMC and the rural Mahakuma)."

Jyostna Agarwal, a district general secretary of Trinamul, said "a weaknesses within the party" had let it down. "We lost our acceptance in the previous elections because of some weaknesses within the party. This led to poor results. But we should consider the upcoming poll as the final test for us. If we fail to achieve this target, we would have hardly any other option but to sit in our homes," she said.