Hyderabad: Ahead of next year's crucial Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday went for a major reshuffle in her party's hierarchy.
From constituting a 21-member Trinamool Congress state coordination committee to forming a first time 7-member steering committee to oversee the state coordination committee and changing several district satraps, Mamata has tried to rejig her party in an effort to send a message to both Bengal's polity as well as her party workers that she means business before the polls. A separate state committee has also been put in place.
There has also been a desperate effort on Mamata's part that she will not allow any tarnishing of her 'clean' image, which has come under serious threat after several reports of malpractices and favouritism cropped up in connection with funds and relief distribution to the cyclone Amphan devastated people in the state.
The seven-member steering committee constituted by Mamata has her close confidants – former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, state ministers Suvendu Adhikari and Partha Chatterjee and Shanta Chhetri, party loyalist and one of her long time associate Subrata Bakshi, her nephew and MP Avishek Banerjee and another Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee.
On the chopping board were several district presidents against whom allegations had surfaced about turning a blind eye to the block and panchayat levels where rampant favouritism and malpractices were going in the distribution of relief material and funds.
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There were also reports of siphoning of rice and lentils meant for the Public Distribution System during the lockdown.
Trinamool district presidents of Howrah, Nadia, South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar have been put on the chopping board.
In a decisive move, former cricketer Laxmi Ratan Shukla has been brought in place of Arup Roy in Howrah.
Several reports of corruption were reported from rural areas of this district in recent times.
The districts of Nadia, South Dinajpur and Cooh Behar have been a witness to a steady bloodbath of the Trinamool Congress and the rampant rise of the BJP.
In fact, the saffron party had made a virtual clean sweep in North Bengal during the last Lok Sabha polls bagging 18 seats.
Mamata could not afford any more pulling of the rug from under her feet. Hence, Arpita Ghosh of South Dinajpur has been replaced with Goutam Das, Gouri Shankar Dutta of Nadia has been replaced with Mahua Maitra and Pratha Pratim Roy will be the new party district president in Cooch Behar.
The Howrah district committee constituted by Mamata has party MLA and state minister Rajib Banerjee as coordinator.
Rajib was at loggerheads with Arup Roy in Howrah and was an open critic of the favouritism going on at the grassroots level within the Trinamool.
A surprise inclusion in the committee is former Maoist sympathiser Chhatradhar Mahato. Former CPI(M) leader Ritabrata Banerjee, who had switched sides, has also been accommodated in the new state committee.
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The west districts of the state, popularly known as Jungle Mahal, has also undergone some major change in today's organisational shuffling done by Mamata. Shyamal Santra has been appointed as the district president of Bankura, Dulal Murmu will be the new district president of Jhargram and Purulia Trinamool district president will be Gurupada Tudu.
Mamata wants to consolidate her position in these districts having borders with Jharkhand and was again, BJP has made significant gains.
Mamata's bete noire, the BJP, is also in a huddle in Delhi to take stock of the ground situation of the state and to assess as to where the party stands at present.
All BJP MPs, MLAs and organisational bigwigs including the state president Dilip Ghosh and a host of general secretaries are attending the marathon meeting, which party sources have said will continue for around a week.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda will also be attending the meeting and in attendance are BJP national general secretary (Organisation) BL Santosh and leaders overseeing the affairs in Bengal, Shiv Prakash, Arvind Menon and Kailash Vijayvargiya.
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