TMC crisis reaches grassroots: Leaders not answering calls, workers directionless
Nearly two months after its rout in Bengal, the Trinamool Congress appears to be in a state of disarray. Even as attention remains focused on
Nearly two months after its rout in Bengal, the Trinamool Congress appears to be in a state of disarray. Even as attention remains focused on MPs leaving the party and the battle over its sign and symbol, unrest is brewing among its grassroots ranks. A survey across several districts has suggested that the Trinamool Congress's rank-and-file workers are facing confusion and a lack of direction, with many saying their leaders are no longer taking their calls, reported Aaj Tak Bangla. Read Full Story While complaints about organisational collapse, missing leaders and internal fragmentation came up repeatedly, several leaders said grassroots workers were still aligned with Mamata Banerjee. In Nadia, a veteran Trinamool leader told Aaj Tak Bangla that the party's organisational disarray had already been reflected in the election results. He alleged that a culture of intimidation had spread across the district and claimed that former state minister Manas Bhunia and Pratap Nayek had been given responsibility by the TMC's Camac Street office in Bengal to collect money. He also said Nayek had been given that responsibility because his mother used to cook at Abhishek's parents' house.
The leader added that senior TMC leaders Shankar Singh and Jishu Singha had disappeared from the scene, and said that nobody was now doing organisational work in the district and that workers were directionless. In North 24 Parganas, former district Trinamool president Nirmal Ghosh said he had stayed with the workers and that his main responsibility was to bring forward the party's honest workers. On whether there was a split in the district unit, he said Trinamool Congress meant Mamata Banerjee and no one else, and that everyone was loyal to her. In Purba Bardhaman, former district Trinamool president Saddam Hossain said the main pressure was being felt by senior office-bearers rather than ordinary workers. He said the workers had not moved away from Mamata Banerjee. According to him, it was office-bearers who were shifting elsewhere, while leaders up to the block level were under pressure. He also alleged that in some places the administration was being used to weaken the party organisationally. He said neither he nor the workers knew Ritabrata, that efforts were being made to stay in touch with leaders close to Mamata Banerjee, and that some leaders were also checking in.
He repeated that the workers remained with Mamata Banerjee and that those moving elsewhere were mainly office-bearers. In Cooch Behar, workers were said to be feeling abandoned as leaders were not answering their calls. Trinamool youth leader Rahul Roy said leaders at the block, village and panchayat levels were not responding to workers and were not even staying in touch with their families. He said most leaders had left Cooch Behar, and that in some places workers were trying to find shelter and make local adjustments on their own. He added that the leaders themselves were looking for shelter, leaving nobody to provide shelter to workers. Roy also said many district- and block-level leaders had been arrested and that workers had no clarity about the situation. Leaders in South 24 Parganas. A Trinamool leader from the district said all committees had been dissolved and that nobody even knew who was holding which post anymore. He said workers were facing the greatest difficulty, many were trying to adjust on their own, and many block-level leaders had vanished.
The BriefWire