Gen Next is here — that’s the one loud and clear message the Trinamul establishment has sent while designing its campaign strategy and drawing up its list of candidates for Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls scheduled this Sunday.

Unlike in the past, Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s all-India general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP, has been the face of the party’s campaign this time. His two mega roadshows on Thursday and Friday in north and south Kolkata made it clear that Mamata has passed on the campaign baton to the 34-year-old.

“The KMC poll is a great opportunity to bring the youths to the forefront…. By giving Abhishek the mandate to lead the campaign, Didi has subtly made him the face of the party’s campaign,” said a senior Trinamul leader.

The veteran leader said this was the first time since Trinamul was formed in 1998 that Mamata had taken a backseat in the party’s civic poll campaign.

“This is part of a well thought out strategy of bringing the next generation, who will run the affairs of the party in the future, to the forefront,” the leader said.

Among Trinamul’s 144 candidates, there are children of three state ministers, an MLA and a member of the KMC’s outgoing mayoral council. The list includes Sourav Basu, son of minister Chandrima Bhattacharya; Puja Panja, daughter of minister Sashi Panja; Faiz Ahmed Khan, son of minister Javed Ahmed Khan; Amit Singh, son of outgoing mayoral council member Tarak Singh; and Sandipan Saha, son of MLA Swarnakamal Saha.

There are at least 10 other candidates from families of senior Trinamul leaders. Basu and Panja are the brand new entrants in the foray.

Basu gave up 14 years of service in the corporate sector to join politics full-fledged in 2018. Once a backroom warrior for his politician mother, he faces a challenging task.

For the last seven years, Ward 86, where Basu has been nominated from, was represented by a BJP councillor. But Basu is determined to secure the seat this time.

“My ward has a very cosmopolitan nature. Yet it doesn’t have a compactor machine, doesn’t have a proper community hall. All this has to be done,” Basu told The Telegraph.

Puja Panja, Trinamul’s candidate for Ward 8, is also contesting her first ever polls. A law graduate with a postgraduate degree in social welfare, the third generation politician from the Panja family of Girish Park has been busy as a social worker.

“She is already one of the secretaries of Trinamul’s youth wing…. She has been helping me in my campaign and work in the area. This time, she is in the fray as she is ready to contest,” said mother Shashi, who is facilitating the entry of the next generation to the world of competitive politics.

A Trinamul source said that the party’s strategy of putting Abhishek in charge of the campaign and nominating the next generation of senior leaders is a deft move.

“There is little doubt that we will set a record by bagging the highest ever seats in the history of KMC polls... The credit will go to Abhishek and his team of next generation leaders and it will facilitate the process of a generational shift in the party,” the source said.