Partha aides out in TMC’s Nadia shuffle : Rejig means leadership aims to bank on 'untainted' faces

Rejig means leadership aims to bank on 'untainted' faces

Partha Chatterjee (in green): File Picture

Subhasish Chaudhuri   |   TT  |   Calcutta   |    22.08.22  : The Trinamul Congress leadership in Nadia has appointed new and old faces while reshuffling the district organisation, while apparently evicting party leaders known to be close to former minister Partha Chatterjee, recently arrested in connection with alleged graft in recruiting schoolteachers.

The reshuffle in block and town level Trinamul organisations in Nadia, of which Chatterjee was formerly in-charge as “observer”, was announced on Saturday evening, indicating that the leadership aims to bank on “untainted” faces.

The leadership has removed Chatterjee’s associates, including former Kalyani town committee president Arup Mukherjee, Haringhata block president Chanchal Biswas, and Ranaghat I block president Tapas Ghosh.

All three were long-time aides of Chatterjee, who had formed a team to control party activities largely from Kalyani.

A senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta said: “Parthada’s arrest and suspected involvement in the teacher recruitment scam has put a blot on the credibility of the party and leadership. So it is a careful step taken by the party to avoid any future embarrassment.”

Party insiders said that Mukherjee and Biswas earned the wrath of a section of the leadership for their reported hobnobbing with Chatterjee. Sources said the arrest of Chatterjee paved the way for their removal, after a senior councillor from Kalyani municipality reportedly tipped off Trinamul all-India general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s office through a minister from North 24-Parganas.

Party sources said Mukherjee and Biswas recently met the top leadership and disowned their association with the tainted former minister, but were still removed.

In Kalyani, Mukherjee was replaced with Biplab De, who a few years ago left to join the BJP, but had since returned.

Mukherjee, however, refuted to be tagged as “Partha loyalist”.

“I am a dedicated party worker and have served the party selflessly under the direction of the senior leader, whoever it is.”

In Haringhata, Biswas was replaced with Narayan Chandra Das.

In Ranaghat, the removal of Ghosh, however, was reportedly viewed as reflective of a “one person one post” policy. But insiders claimed that his association with Chatterjee played a role.

A senior party leader in Nadia said: “The message is clear. The Partha Chatterjee episode is an eye-opener. So the organisation has been reshuffled to ensure the clean image of the party.”

With this aim, over a dozen of new faces have been appointed at block levels, and old-timers sidelined owing to an influx of activists recently, have been brought back.

“Bringing back senior leader and trustedlieutenant Dinesh Chakraborty in Hanshkhali block is a good sign,” a Trinamul leader said, claiming it would help pacify rival factions.

The reshuffle also indicates a balance of power in the two most prominent factions led by Subhankar Singh, son of senior leader Sankar Singh, and Ratna Ghosh.