Mamata Banerjee called an urgent meeting amid a growing rift in the Trinamool Congress (File)
A meeting in the presence of senior Trinamool Congress leaders began at the West Bengal Chief Minister’s residence on Saturday to discuss the growing rift between Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
The meeting is apparently to defuse the mounting tension in the party over pressure from Abhishek Banerjee to promote a policy of ‘one man, one post’, angered by some of the party’s old guards, some of whom are within the ruling establishment. Holds many positions.
But many see it as an escalating confrontation between Ms Banerjee and her increasingly ambitious nephew, who is effectively the party’s second in command.
Caught in the crossfire is the I-PAC, Prashant Kishor’s political consultancy group, which has been working with the Trinamool since the West Bengal elections, with Abhishek Banerjee seen as the main liaison between the party and knowledgeable political advisors.
On Friday, a public spat broke out between Trinamool leader Chandrima Bhattacharya and I-PAC after she alleged that her social media accounts were “misused” by Prashant Kishor’s team – a claim that was immediately challenged.
Ms Bhattacharya was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, “A Twitter account was created in my name by I-PAC before the elections. Today it posted something about ‘one person one post’ without my knowledge. I strongly oppose it.”
I-PAC countered, “I-PAC does not handle any digital assets of @AITCofficial or any of its leaders. Anyone making such a claim is either uninformed or clearly lying. To AITC It must be seen whether and how their digital assets and/or their leaders are being ‘allegedly (mis)used’.”
Ms Banerjee’s voice to journalists on Monday also discussed the differences between the Trinamool chief and the nephew, who is leading the party’s Goa campaign, while visiting Uttar Pradesh to help Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s campaign campaign. are.
When asked if she is going to campaign in Goa, she said, “Koi kar raha hai, so I am not. I am going to other places… more interested”, a curious remark and a reference to Abhishek Banerjee. A more curious reference as “any”.
An internal squabble over the campaign came to the fore last week when two competing lists of candidates for the upcoming civic polls came out from the party – prompting Mamata Banerjee to take a side and support a faction regarded as the old guard. Did.
However, sources close to the I-PAC claim that there is no rift with the chief minister.
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