Trinamul youths seek election tickets

TT, Jalpaiguri: Leaders of Jalpaiguri district Youth Trinamul have demanded that people who are workers and local leaders of party's youth wing be fielded in most of the seats in the upcoming panchayat elections.

The demand has come before district leaders of the party have finished the selection of candidates in all three-tiers and it is being interpreted as a move by the youth wing to keep leaders under pressure.

"Since November last year, we have held 'panchayati raj sammelan' (meetings) with youths in all blocks of the district. At those meetings, we have even selected youths as prospective candidates for the rural polls. Further, teams of youths have been formed in each booth to work for the elections. We want our party leaders to field competent people, mostly youths, to ensure win in maximum seats," said Saikat Chatterjee, the president of the Jalpaiguri district Youth Trinamul.

He claimed that most of the rural voters in Jalpaiguri district are aged below 45 years. "That is why we feel it would help the party if more and more youths are chosen as candidates," added Chatterjee.

The youth wing has also demanded that the district party form a screening committee to finalise the candidates' list.

There should be top district leaders and youth leaders in the committee, which will work on names of prospective candidates collected from the blocks and panchayats, judge the candidates' prospects and weightage and then take the selection, they said.

"It is a comprehensive exercise but if selection is done in this manner, we are confident that at least 90 per cent of the panchayat samiti seats will come to us and there will be not a single winner from other parties in the zilla parishad," said the Trinamul youth president.

Such a move by the youths has left party leaders under pressure, said insiders.

"We cannot afford to antagonise the youths, who take active part in the election campaign. But simultaneously, we cannot put youths in all the seats. There has to be a balance and we are working on it," said a senior district leader.

"So far, we have not seen the youth wing in any district making such a demand. Usually, candidates are selected by the district party and in some cases consultation is done with youth leaders in case a young candidate is selected in any seat," added the leader.

Sourav Chakraborty, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president, was brief in his reactions.

"We have made the selection while taking into confidence all frontal organisations and wings of the party. There will be obviously some young candidates," he said.