Veteran TMC leader switches sides, seeks Abhishek Banerjee's exit
Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh on Sunday joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel camp and claimed that many dissident leaders and workers would return to
Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Rabindranath Ghosh on Sunday joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel camp and claimed that many dissident leaders and workers would return to Mamata Banerjee if she sidelined her nephew Abhishek Banerjee from active politics for the time being. Ghosh's move came less than 24 hours after the rebels stepped up their bid for control of the party by announcing parallel state and district committees. The development has deepened the split in the embattled TMC, with several longtime loyalists of Mamata Banerjee, including former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal, joining the faction as it moves from political rebellion to building a parallel organisation. Read Full Story Ghosh, a former North Bengal Development Minister and a longtime associate of Mamata Banerjee, is likely to be named the rebel faction's Cooch Behar district president. He strongly criticised Abhishek Banerjee and political consultancy firm I-PAC, saying the party's setback in the Assembly polls was largely due to their influence. "From what I have figured after speaking to many party leaders is that Mamata Banerjee needs to remove Abhishek from the domain of active politics, at least for the time being.
I believe that would make the dissident leaders and workers return to her," Ghosh told reporters. He added, "There's no denying that Abhishek's whims and fancies over 80 sitting MLAs and ministers were denied poll tickets and many others removed from their organisational positions, had a severe impact on the party." Ghosh, who was the TMC's district president for more than two decades, also questioned whether Mamata Banerjee still had effective control over the party. "Does Didi really have power in her hands anymore? Power has become concentrated elsewhere and incompetent people were given crucial responsibilities. Even if Mamata Banerjee wanted to, she could not do many things," he claimed. Asked if the party's split and electoral defeat were the result of Abhishek Banerjee's leadership, Ghosh said, "He lacks political experience. He did not emerge through any political movement. And what was I-PAC? It's a bunch of youngsters telling us what to do." He added, "We came up through political struggles and years of hard work. There was no I-PAC in 2011 or 2016. Suddenly they became indispensable. In the end, they destroyed the party and walked away." On why he chose to switch camps instead of conveying his concerns directly to Mamata Banerjee, Ghosh said there was only one Trinamool Congress and no factions.
The BriefWire