Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday cautioned party workers against violating party discipline and said those partymen who will contest as Independents will never be welcomed back into the party fold.

Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, said this while addressing party workers as part of the 'Trinamul-eh Nabajowar' (new wave in Trinamul) mass outreach campaign in Birbhum district.

Banerjee said he will personally monitor the functioning of the panchayats run by the TMC.

The senior TMC leader, who is number two in the party after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, said those who will work against the party's interest will never receive any recognition.

"No one is above party discipline, not me, not you. Even if I am not happy with the candidate, if the party has decided on someone, you have to support the party candidate," he said in an interaction with party workers.

Banerjee, on Thursday, addressed two rallies, conducted two road shows on foot and will be conducting an "Adhiveshan" (convention) in the district.

"And if you think you are not working for the party and the party will be kind to you, you are mistaken. The party has all your information. And those who think that by winning panchayat, you are free to do whatever you want for the next five years, you are mistaken. I will personally review your work every three months," he said.

While maintaining that he has rusticated 4-5 panchayat pradhans in the past few months, Banerjee said "Non-performers won't be spared and have to step down," "All those who fight as independent candidates will never be welcomed in the party fold. The doors of the party will be closed forever for those who fight as independent candidates," he said.

Abhishek, in the last few months, has been urging party workers to refrain from using strong-arm tactics to win elections and shun the grab-all mindset.

His remarks are believed to have stemmed from criticism that the party had drawn from various quarters during the 2018 panchayat polls, which were marred by widespread violence, and rigging incidents reported.

The following year TMC's tally in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls came down from 34 to 22, and the opposition BJP's tally went up from two to 18 in the state.

With the majority of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal having rural and semi-urban areas administered by panchayats, absolute control of the rural bodies is a must for political parties to have the upper hand on rivals in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

Banerjee began this campaign on April 25 from Cooch Behar district and covered over 2000 Km across eight districts.

His campaign is scheduled to end in the third week of June in Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district. He had said the campaign would empower people to choose their own candidates through a secret ballot, whom the party would give nominations in the panchayat polls.

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