The Trinamool Congress on Monday tried to streamline the process of distribution of tickets for the upcoming civic polls amid some incidents of protests and announced that the candidate list signed by the two senior most leaders of the party would be the final list of its official candidates.
With several lists of Trinamool candidates for municipal elections going public, there are murmurs of differences between election strategist Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC and a section of the old guard in the party.
“Please don’t ask me these questions. These are internal matters of the party.. You can ask in the party meeting,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told presspersons when asked about reports of differences between I-PAC and Trinamool Congress. But and whether the relationship between the two is over.
The Trinamool Congress and I-PAC came together ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections and the association has undoubtedly worked wonders for the ruling party of the state as it registered a resounding victory over the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2021 assembly elections. I-PAC is also involved in increasing the support base of Trinamool Congress in Goa and Tripura.
Following resentment among a section of Trinamool supporters over ticket distribution, some party leaders have directly blamed some outside agency. Trinamool MLA Madanmitra said, “Attempts are being made to mislead a section of the party due to outside agency.”
During the day, Ms Banerjee said the list of candidates signed by party general secretary Partha Chatterjee and general secretary Subrata Bakshi would be final. The party also appointed the senior leader as an observer of civic elections in a district. Polling is to be held on February 27 in 108 municipal bodies of 20 districts.
When Partha Chatterjee was asked about the contract between I-PAC and Trinamool Congress, he gave a cryptic reply that he was not aware of the involvement of any outside agency or termination of the contract by the party. Both the Trinamool leadership and the I-PAC suggested after the 2021 assembly elections that the relationship between the two is likely to continue till 2024.
Trinamool Congress sources believe that the differences over ticket allocation are a minor issue, but with the emergence of two power centers in the party, the gap between the old leaders and the newly emerging leadership is sure to come to the fore.
“The Trinamool Congress has two centers of power, one in the state secretariat and the other in Camac Street. Political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said differences are coming to the fore again and again whether it is for elections related to KMC or other municipal bodies. Professor Chakraborty was alluding to the rise of Ms Banerjee’s nephew and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who works from his office in Camac Street and has undoubtedly emerged as the second most important figure in the party. Mr. Banerjee was instrumental in getting I-PAC on board.
In the past few weeks, the chief minister has also tried to send out a message that the party will not neglect West Bengal while pursuing its national ambitions. She has also been conservative as far as new organizational and political appointments are concerned and has often rejected I-PAC’s inputs.
However, experts like Professor Chakraborty say that the issue related to civic elections is a big problem for the Trinamool Congress. “For the rank and file of the Trinamool Congress, civic elections are important as control over civic bodies gives local leaders access to funds that are at the disposal of municipalities. The tussle of tickets to contest the civic polls in the ruling party with the opposition is a reflection of the political economy of the state,” he said.
,