CM forms four new panels - Unsuccessful Trinamul leaders included in committees

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Siliguri, June 29: Mamata Banerjee today announced four new committees and made some former ministers and Trinamul leaders who had lost the Assembly polls members of the panels - a move that is being seen as an attempt to make the party more inclusive.

A significant name that is absent from the list of members and chiefs of the panels is Krishnendu Chowdhury, the former state horticulture minister who lost the Englishbazar seat in Malda.

Other than Bhaichung Bhutia,who lost from Siliguri, no other Trinamul leader from Siliguri has made it to the committees.

Today, Mamata held review meetings with administrative officials of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling districts at Uttarkanya here. Later, she announced the four committees and the names of their members.

While Abdul Karim Chowdhury, a former minister who lost in Islampur, has been made the chairman of Uttarbanga Unnayan Parshad (North Bengal Development Council), Sabitri Mitra, who lost in Malda's Manikchak has been nominated as a member of the panel.

Unsuccessful candidates like Santa Chhetri (who contested from Kurseong), Sharda Rai Subba (Darjeeling) and Harka Bahadur Chhetri - the Jana Andolan Party president and former Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader who lost in Kalimpong - have been included in one or more panels.

"The basic idea is to provide a berth to each of the people who contested the polls but lost. Also, some Trinamul leaders who have worked during the polls but did not contest, like Abdul Jalil Ahmed of Cooch Behar, Joakim Buxla, Mridul Goswami and Mohan Sharma of Alipurduar, have been recognised by the chief minister," a political observer said.

"By including them, Mamata Banerjee has tried to send a clear message that the party has not shunned them. It is a mature political move that would surely have a positive impact on these people, their followers and Trinamul supporters in their areas," he added.

Mann Ghisingh, the GNLF chief and the son of late Subash Ghisingh, has made it to the list. He has been made the vice-chairman of North Bengal Board for Development of Sports and Games.

"By including Mann Ghisingh, our party supremo has indicated that she has found a second political ally in the hills after Harka Bahadur Chhetri. The development comes ahead of the civic polls that are due in four hill municipalities in November," a Trinamul insider said. "Another factor that has worked behind selection of these people is the rural polls scheduled for 2018. It is better to go for inclusive politics and that is what our party supremo has done."

Today Mamata announced a new bus terminus in Siliguri for local and long-distance services. She said the existing Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus would be upgraded to an international depot. "The Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority will provide the land. The Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminus would be developed as an international terminus," Mamata said. "Constructions of both the Asian Highways (2 and 48) will be completed by June 2017."

The chief minister added that the tea directorate that would function under the north Bengal development department will start functioning shortly. "We will have a government official as the CEO of the directorate," she said.

Mamata said President Pranab Mukherjee would visit Darjeeling between July 12 and 14.