Ahead of Assembly polls, Mamata Banerjee conducts major organisational reshuffle in TMC

TMC sources said that the move was aimed at curbing faction feud in the TMC and strengthen the party organisation to take on the BJP

Ahead of the Assembly elections in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has taken over the reigns of the party organisation.

The Chief Minister initiated major organisational changes in the party, under which a handful of senior TMC leaders were put in charge of the districts and they would directly report to her. TMC sources said that the move was aimed at curbing factional feuds in the TMC and strengthening the party organisation to take on the BJP.

TMC sources further revealed that the party supremo gave the charge of the districts of South Dinajpur, Cooch Behar, East and parts of West Medinipur to general secretary Subrata Bakshi; East and West Bardhaman, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Darjeeling to Arup Biswas; Malda, Howrah, Hooghly, Murshidbad, North Dinajpur to Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim; and Nadia, Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and parts of West Medinipur to secretary general Partha Chatterjee. Labour Minister Moloy Ghatak had been given the responsibility of Bankura and Purulia. However, districts of North and South 24 Paraganas and Birbhum would be looked after by concerned district presidents, TMC sources said.

They said that the organisational changes were also aimed at sending a message to defectors and disgruntled party leaders that they were not indispensable for TMC.

“The Chief Minister has given clear instructions to senor leaders in charge of the districts to be regularly in touch with MPs and MLAs as well as grassroots level cadres,” a senior TMC leader said.

The development comes at a time when TMC was trying to prevent further defection to the BJP after former Minister Suvendu Adhikari joined the saffron party along with six sitting TMC MLAs and a sitting MP of the party. The Chief Minister herself would hit the streets would hold public rallies in Nadia and East Mednipur districts respectively on January 11 and January 18.