Deb to find out reasons for debacle - TMC leaders to submit reports to CM

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Siliguri, May 23: Trinamul leader Gautam Deb today said he would visit every nook and corner of Siliguri subdivision to identify the reasons for the party's consecutive defeats in the polls and submit a report to Mamata Banerjee.

"After May 27, I will visit different areas of Siliguri subdivision and speak to local leaders and supporters to find out why Trinamul lost the elections to municipal corporation, mahakuma parishad and the Assembly. It is indeed an aberration that Trinamul is losing polls in Darjeeling district, unlike other districts, except Malda," said Deb.

There are three Assembly constituencies in Siliguri subdivision, Siliguri, Matigara-Naxalbari and Phansidewa. While Asok Bhattacharya of the CPM won from Siliguri, the Congress has bagged the other two seats.

"Out of 294 booths in my constituency, Trinamul did not get lead in 55. I will visit the areas under every booth to know what went wrong," said Deb.

He defeated Dilip Singh of the CPM by a margin of 23,811 votes.

"Once I finish my visit, I will prepare a comprehensive report, mentioning the shortcomings and issues which worked against Trinamul. The report will also contain opinions of local leaders and supporters. I will submit the report to our party supremo Mamata Banerjee. The purpose is to take up all necessary political measures and launch any work required at the government level to augment our support base," said the Trinamul leader.

Deb's decision has come after Bhaichung Bhutia, who was defeated by Asok Bhattacharya in Siliguri, obliquely trained guns at the district Trinamul leadership for the drubbing. Ranjan Sarkar is the Darjeeling district Trinamul president and many in the party feel his position has become untenable after the defeat in the polls.

Sarkar was brought to the post in November last year. He replaced Deb, who had failed to bring success to the party in the civic and rural polls.