WARY TMC GEARS UP TO UPGRADE IMAGE, ORGANISATION

Stripping “tainted” Partha Chatterjee of all government and party posts and the quick “fix” move to do so by the “jolted” party clearly has the imprint of new age leadership of the party. A close look will clearly reveal the tussle between the Old School and Young Turk(s) of the organisation.

Abhishek who has been “preparing” himself for bigtime, was recently seen to be extra proactive especially in the post-Chatterjee episode. Following embarrassment the party faced after the recent ED searches which yielded quite a fortune and literally gold mines, Abhishek was quick to make the move and make the announcement to not only distance the party from Chatterjee but also talk of the party’s zero tolerance towards corruption and et al. Even as time and again young Abhishek has been surfacing, the old guard so far has been having their way. Of late, the Yuvaraj of TMC has been seen to be the party’s face and at times the policy spokesperson too. Surprising though in the presence of Didi, it was Abhishek who appeared to make the “surprise announcement” that the party (TMC), which had spearheaded the opposition fight during the presidential elections, would not back a Margaret Alva, the joint vice-president nominee and more surprisingly, Mamata, who Opposition leaders said had committed to stand with them, was not in the Big Picture.

Also, after Chatterjee was ousted as a minister, it was Abhishek (again) who chaired a disciplinary committee meeting, where it was decided that Chatterjee would be removed as TMC secretary general. In a bid to display a humane face, the same day itself, Abhishek called on protesters agitating against the school scam, including the job aspirants and assured them that the government was with them. It may be noted here that even as there was some buzz of reported “tension” between Abhishek and Mamata earlier this year… especially around the time of the civic polls, it is clear and obvious that Abhishek’s move… be it on Chatterjee or Alva has his aunt’s clear endorsement!

Also, it may be noted how Mamata in the Chatterjee episode kept herself away from the matter even as ED was unearthing the mountain of wealth. It was also reported that the TMC supremo apparently did not take Chatterjee’s calls in distress. Also, Abhishek’s rain-drenched speech on the TMC’s July 21 Martyrs’ Day show had pegged strongly on the fact that the party would crack the whip on wrongdoers! Some senior leaders feel that Abhishek is (trying to) follow in his aunt’s imprint and create an image so that Mamata can entrust more responsibilities on him. However, Abhishek too has his share of detractors. Earlier, the Diamond Harbour MP’s actions and statements drew flak and were hugely criticised by senior party leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee who called Abhishek’s statements a “challenge to the state government” and declared that he did not consider the 34-year-old his leader. Challenging Abhishek’s bid to contain the Covid surge through his Diamond Harbour model, Banerjee had asked, “What model? There is only one model, which Mamata Banerjee has come up with … Abhishek is basically lending an advantage to the BJP. If Abhishek Banerjee can win Tripura and Goa, then I will accept him as a leader.”

Meanwhile, a wary TMC in order to spruce up its house announced on Monday major organisational reshuffle in the party. Most district presidents and chairpersons have been replaced. Political analysts believe that the dark episode of Chatterjee has hugely prompted the rejig. However, putting up a brave front, TMC claimed that the changes were not accelerated due to the recent incidents. Chatterjee’s ouster will soon prompt the party to go in for a Cabinet rejig too and new faces are expected. According to the party, MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is the new president of the Barasat organisational district, replacing Ashani Mukhopadhyay, the Barasat Municipality chairman who is considered close to Partha Chatterjee. Shaoni Singha Roy, a former Congress MLA, is the new president of Murshidabad and Baharampur organisational districts. MP Khalilur Rahman has been retained as the president of the Jangipur organisational district.

Also, on Monday, The West Bengal Cabinet approved creation of seven new districts in the state and this will take the number of districts in West Bengal to 30 from the existing 23. States keep carving out new districts and the general idea is that smaller units would make governance easier and would benefit the masses as they would get access to government and the administration. Earlier, in April 2022, Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy (virtually) created 13 new districts in his state, fulfilling an assembly election promise made in 2019. According to Census 2011 figures, almost 4 million people lived in each of West Bengal’s 23 districts on average — among the highest in the country. Following the Chatterjee episode, the TMC is working overtime to fix its image and the party is trekking that extra mile to take initiatives.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

ROBIN ROY   The writer is Senior Associate Editor, Free Press Journal, Mumbai and former Managing Editor, First India