The state Trinamul leadership has sought details on violence during the last panchayat polls from all the districts in north Bengal, besides asking the local leaders to send a detailed report on recent incidents in which party leaders were accused of perpetrating violence.

The move is being seen as the first step towards identifying those party leaders who have had a role in perpetrating violence in the last panchayat elections so that they don’t figure among the party’s candidates in the upcoming rural polls.

“These leaders may face the axe when the list of candidates for this year’s rural polls will be announced,” said a source in Jalpaiguri.

Though the party’s top echelons in north Bengal declined any official comment on the issue, multiple sources said this move is perceived to be the brainchild of the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

A senior Trinamul functionary in Jalpaiguri said they have begun the process of collating information on the law and order problems during the 2018 panchayat election and thereafter.

“This seems to be a two pronged strategy to identify all those involved in violent acts. Simultaneously, the party also wants comprehensive data on incidents where our political rivals or even central agencies were involved so that those cases can be referred to during the poll campaign,” said the party leader.

In north Bengal, where the BJP has emerged as a political force to reckon with over the past few years and has managed to secure seven of eight Lok Sabha seats and 30 of 54 Assembly seats in the 2019 and 2021 elections, respectively, Trinamul is desperate to turn around its political fortunes, said a source.

“Anybody in the party, and especially all those elected panchayat representatives, who had indulged in violence or in corruption, is under the scanner of Abhishek Banerjee.... The party is in the process of doing away with them, at least in the electoral contests,” said a Trinamul leader in north Bengal.

The Trinamul leadership, the leader added, is not ready to risk losing the support of voters because of the negative perception of violence or infighting over candidature.

However, incidents of factionalism in Trinamul do rear their heads in north Bengal.

A couple of days back, two factions of Trinamul supporters, who are contractual employees at the Jalpaiguri super specialty hospital, had clashed over their recruitment.

“Some leaders based in the rural areas were involved.... We have sent the video footage and all other details to Abhishek Banerjee’s office and to the party’s state IT cell. We want to ensure there is no violence during the panchayat polls this time,” said Mohua Gope, the Jalpaiguri district Trinamul president.

Sources said after obtaining the data, the party is likely to drop a number of candidates with a track record of perpetrating violence, along with under-performers.

“Having fresh faces as well as veteran party members who have performed well in their respective areas in the list of candidates will surely help Trinamul (in the coming panchayat elections). In north Bengal, this exercise is important to thwart the BJP,” a party insider said.