Darj CPM chooses Pathak as its secretary

Saman Pathak

SANKHA GHOSH, SNS, SILIGURI, 12 DECEMBER 21 : Darjeeling district CPM secretary and former Rajya Sabha MP Saman Pathak has been elected as the new secretary of the district CPI-M. Old war horse and veteran party leader Asok Bhattacharya could not continue as the district secretariat member due to the age ceiling for members, but he has been nominated as a special invitee in the new district committee announced here today.

A 40-member district committee has been constituted in the presence of state party secretary Surya Kanta Mishra in the two-day 23rd district conference that began here yesterday.

According to political analysts, following the dismal performance of the party in the last Assembly elections, it appears that the CPI-M wanted to highlight the young leadership in the run-up to the crucial Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad (SMP) elections. They said the party should inject new blood into the leadership to overcome problems.

"We focused on bringing in young leadership in the party. They play an important role in strengthening the party. Accordingly, 13 new faces have been inducted in the new committee. Saman Pathak has been unanimously elected as the district party secretary," said outgoing party secretary Jibesh Sarkar.

According to Mr Sarkar, who is in the new district committee and is also a state committee member, the last district conference had emphasised on an average age of 52 for members, but that this time it had been brought down to below 48.

He, however, ruled out any link of the move to election results.

"In fact, I proposed the name of Mr Pathak," the 67 year-old senior leader said. Mr Sarkar held the post for two terms. However, he has been shouldering the organizational responsibilities of the party for more than the past two decades.

Forty-seven-year-old Pathak is the son of former party secretary, MP and MLA, Ananda Pathak.

Despite three consecutive victories in the last civic body polls and three tier SMP polls (in 2015) and the Assembly elections in Siliguri in 2016, the party had disastrous results in the last Assembly elections. The party that has a rich history of student movements, is facing organisational limitations and erosion in the support base, while the "decline" is also attributed to the aging leadership.

The 72-year-old former minister and Siliguri mayor and one of the most important faces of the party, Mr Bhattacharya, who has been the state committee secretariat member, has become an invitee member.

"An important leader of our party, Mr Bhattacharya has been relieved from the district secretariat. He will be the special invitee. Our party has already capped an age bar for all its members to encourage young faces. One who will be brought in the area committee, the age limit has to be below 50, it is 55 for the district committee," Mr Sarkar said.

Mr Bhattacharya has been in the district committee since 1980, and a party member for the last 53 years. Along with him, another party veteran, Parimal Bhowmik, has been nominated as an invitee member. Two other senior leaders, Milan Sarkar and Sushil Deb-nath, have also been relieved from the district committee due to the age bar.

According to Mr Pathak, his focus will be on reaching out "more physically' to the working class.

"We act according to the party policy We will stand beside the working class and downtrodden people and fight for their rights and against anti-people policies of the government. We have identified our weaknesses politically and as well as from an organizational point of view Two crucial polls are approaching. We had won those elections earlier, and we are hopeful about our victory this time too," Mr Pathak said.