CM message for youths

Mamata Banerjee’s hoardings erected near the entrance to the Kanchenjungha Stadium where she will address the Trinamul meeting on Monday. Picture by Passang Yolmo

AVIJIT SINHA, TT, Feb 04, 2018, Siliguri: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is set to address a gathering of members of the Trinamul Congress's youth and student wings from north Bengal here on Monday, where she is expected to push for an end to rampant factionalism plaguing the party.

The Trinamul chief's nephew and MP Abhishek Banerjee will also attend the meeting at the Kanchenjungha Stadium.

"The meeting is important as our party supremo will pass a message to the youths and students. She has spoken about developing new leaders in Trinamul as it is the youths who will carry party flags in future," minister and Darjeeling (plains) district Trinamul president Gautam Deb said on Sunday.

Trinamul insiders pointed to a number of lobbies active in the Trinamul Chhatra Parishad and Youth Trinamul in many districts of north Bengal.

"Besides, student and youth leaders have differences with functionaries of the parent organisation. Such differences and lobbies pose a challenge to the growth of Trinamul. It seems at Monday's meeting, Mamata and Abhishek, who also heads the Youth Trinamul, will disseminate a message to plug fissures at various levels of the hierarchy of the party and its wings," said a Trinamul insider.

The student and youth wings have differences with the parent organisation, especially in Cooch Behar, North and South Dinajpur and Jalpaiguri districts.

"Some youth leaders often try to prove that it is because of them that Trinamul is gaining strength and support in Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. It often leads to altercations and even clashes - something that the party does not want ahead of panchayat elections," said a source.

In North and South Dinajpurs, there are multiple lobbies in Trinamul.

"It is imperative that there is an end to the lobbies, particularly because the BJP has been consistently trying to make inroads into districts like Cooch Behar and South Dinajpur," a Trinamul leader in Siliguri said.

Political observers said Mamata was planning to encourage foot soldiers to work in a concerted manner in the rural polls.

Morcha greetings

The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president, Binay Tamang, said on Sunday that the party would greet the chief minister at 15 places while she travelled up to Darjeeling on Tuesday after a gap of eight months.