The Trinamul leadership has come up with a mixed bag for party workers of north Bengal districts as they have announced names of the chairmen and presidents of each organizational district of the party on Monday.
While in most districts of this region, those who were in the posts have been asked to continue, changes have been made in some of the districts.
Among the changes, the most “disputed” decision has been made in South Dinajpur district where the party chose Mrinal Sarkar as the new district president.
“He is an accused in a murder case and was also earlier expelled from the party. The decision to elevate him to the post of the district president has not gone down well with a considerable section of leaders and workers,” said a Trinamul functionary of the district.
Earlier, Ujjal Basak, a senior leader of the party, was in the post.
According to sources, Mrinal, a resident of Nandanpur-Bikoir area that is under Gangarampur police station, hails from a farmer’s family. He was the block Trinamul president in Gangarampur till yesterday.
In 2019, two Trinamul workers were murdered in Gangarampur and Mrinal, along with some others, were accused of the murders. The case is still pending at court. At that time, he was expelled by the then district president Biplab Mitra.
“We had never expected such a decision. Since yesterday, most of the leaders have received phone calls from party workers and junior leaders who have questioned the decision. We are also skeptical as to whether this decision would affect the party's base in the district ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections,” said a party leader.
Mrinal, when contacted, was silent on the issue. He instead attacked the saffron camp.
“The MP of Balurghat, who is also the state BJP chief (Sukanta Majumdar), has not done anything for the district. We will work together to consolidate Trinamul’s base here,” said the new district president.
In Cooch Behar, there was a different scene. The party leadership’s decision to change the district president -- Partha Pratim Roy has been removed and Abhijit Dey Bhowmik has been made the new president – has left the party without a district office.
Trinamul insiders said, earlier when Rabindranath Ghosh was the district president, he used to run an office. However, after he was removed from the post, he closed it down.
“Same has happened again. As the announcement was made by the party in Calcutta, Partha Pratim Roy, who used to run the district office, has closed it. It seems the new president will have to find a new space. This is rare in any district,” a party leader said.
Unlike these districts, a smile of satisfaction can be seen in the faces of the chairmen and presidents of Darjeeling hills and plains committees.
In the plains, Alok Chakraborty and Papiya Ghosh will continue in the posts of chairman and president. Similarly, in hills, L B Rai and Shanta Chhetri have not been removed from their posts.
“We consider it as a big recognition for our performance and success in ousting the Left from Siliguri Municipal Corporation and Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad,” said Chakraborty.
Shanta, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, has also thanked the leadership. “In the hills, Trinamul could win five seats in GTA for the first time. The entire campaign was carried out by these leaders.”
