Mamata Banerjee's advice to Mahua Moitra: Stick to your area

At the booth level workers’ meet in Calcutta, Bengal CM told Krishnagar MP to leave party issues in Nadia’s Karimpur to Murshidabad MP Abu Taher

Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra in Karimpur.  : File picture

Subhasish Chaudhuri   |   TT  |  09.09.22 : Chief minister Mamata Banerjee in a tone of caution asked the party’s Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra not to interfere in organisational affairs beyond her constituency and help the leadership by focusing on her own area.

At the booth level workers’ meet in Calcutta on Thursday, she told Moitra to leave party issues in Nadia’s Karimpur to Murshidabad MP Abu Taher.

Moitra was elected as a Trinamul MLA from Karimpur in 2016.

The term, however, was cut short after the party picked her to contest the Krishnagar Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections. When she won the Lok Sabha polls, Bimalendu Sinha Roy of Trinamul replaced her by winning the Karimpur by-election.

“Karimpur is no more Mahua’s jurisdiction. It is under Abu Taher.… He will look after it,” Mamata said on Thursday.

Karimpur, although in Nadia district, falls under the Murshidabad Lok Sabha seat.

Mamata’s order came in the wake of complaints from leaders in Karimpur accusing Moitra of allegedly running a parallel organisation and an administrative network with the support of some administrative officers and party workers.

Moitra has been accused of ignoring the party’s official guidelines, the local MLA and organisational committees, insiders in the party said.

The current Karimpur MLA Sinha Roy, a retired headmaster, welcomed Mamata’s decision and termed it “beneficial” for the people of Karimpur.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sinha Roy said: “She only comes to Karimpur to create problems. Her presence has seriously harmed the organisational unity in Karimpur.”

“I am a two-time MLA of Karimpur. She often visits Karimpur but ignores me. She functions with the support of a pet BDO. She did not even allow me to work. This for obvious reasons has reached Mamata Banerjee”s ears,” Sinha Roy added.

Local sources alleged that Moitra’s high-handedness had angered several leaders and party workers since she was assigned the charge of the party affairs for Krishnagar organisational committee prior to the 2021 Assembly polls.

She was later removed, but allegedly went on to continue with her interference in Karimpur.

“Mahua’s arrogant behaviour towards party leaders and workers was never encouraged by Didi and Abhishek (Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary). She had been cautioned earlier but did not mend her ways,” said a senior Trinamul leader in Krishnagar.

Taher, however, had good words to say about Moitra.

“Mahua’s contribution to Karimpur cannot be ignored. She was instrumental in breaching the CPM bastion,” Taher said.

Calls made to Moitra went unanswered.

Moitra, however, later in the evening in a Facebook post described in detail about the development initiatives she undertaken as an MLA and later as an MP.

“Being the former MLA of Karimpur my bonding with the people will remain strong forever. As per the direction of our party supremo I now needed to spend more time in the assembly segments of my constituency. So please make contact with Abu Taher for any development works,” Moitra wrote.

She added that she would, however, continue to “stay” at her Karimpur-based residence as a voter in the town.