Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of Trinamul, warned his party leaders in Malda to abstain from infighting and asked them to work in a united manner ahead of panchayat elections.

Before heading to Murshidabad, Abhishek met district and block-level leaders at his camp office at Sustani More on the outskirts of Malda town on Friday.

Party sources said that Trinamul leaders present at the meeting were surprised as Abhishek proved to be well-informed about rivalries and controversies existing within the party.

“Either you work for the interest of the party, forget rivalry with the other leaders.... or leave the party,” a leader quoted Abhishek saying.

In Malda, infighting within Trinamul has often embarrassed the party’s top brass. It is also believed to be one of the major reasons which prevented the party from winning any of the two Lok Sabha seats in 2019.

“Abhishek Banerjee took a serious note of such issues. He even cancelled his roadshow at Baishnabnagar and summoned the leaders for the meeting today (Friday),” said a party functionary.

Rajya Sabha member Mausam Noor, district president Abdur Rahim Boxi, ministers of state Sabina Yeasmin and Tazmul Hossain, all MLAs and presidents of all 15 blocks were present at the meeting.

He told the leaders that the party’s district committee should meet at least twice a month and Noor should be invited to it.

“She should be consulted before the party makes any important organisational decision in the district,” Abhishek reportedly told the leaders.

At the meeting, the Trinamul MP also said that if there is more than one committee of the party in any tier — there are reports of such multiple committees in Chanchal — those should be dissolved immediately.

“An MLA whose son was projecting himself as the party’s candidate for a Zilla Parishad seat in North Malda was pulled up by Abhishek,” said a source. “Another MLA was warned because there were allegations that he was selling party posts.”

Abhishek sought explanations from a woman block president regarding the demonstrations bysome party workers against her.

“The woman leader claimed that the demonstration was instigated by a senior party leader, which some others supported. She was asked to file a written complaint with the party,” said a source.

The meeting, party insiders said, gave many hope.

“Many were fearful of Trinamul’s performance during the rural polls as lobbies have mushroomed within the party here. These groups act against each other, which helps other parties. After this meeting (with Abhishek), we hope the situation in Malda improves,” a senior leader said.