Trinamool Congress Undergoes Significant Organizational Restructuring

In the lead-up to the pivotal Lok Sabha election, Trinamul made a number of organizational changes in the districts on Monday, blaming them on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The primary goal of these adjustments was to reinforce previously recognized weak areas.

Abhishek Banerjee, the National General Secretary of Trinamul, actively engaged in months of planning and debates that culminated in the reorganization, which was implemented after final permission from Mamata, the Chairperson of the Party and his aunt.

This was the largest shake-up at the district level in Trinamul since July 23, 2020.

Similar adjustments made before 2021 proved advantageous. This time, Abhishek came up with the idea, Mata approved it before the rural elections, and preparations were quickly developed. During the (panchayat) election season, the weak points were identified, according to a Trinamul insider.

According to a source in Trinamul, "the talks began days after Abhishek returned from the US (on August 20)." The districts that were mentioned were East Midnapore, Murshidabad, Bankura, Hooghly, North 24-Parganas, and Birbhum.

Because district party president Anubrata Mondal has been absent since his detention for an extended period of time, Birbhum, a Trinamul stronghold, is now an important element of that list.

A nine-person district leadership core committee, who would answer directly to Mamata and senior politician Firhad Hakim, was given charge of Birbhum's duties.

The core committee, which includes leaders Kajal Sheikh, Sudipto Ghosh, and Biswabijoy Mandi, as well as Birbhum MPs Asit Mal and Satabdi Roy, MLAs Chandra Nath Sinha, Bikash Roychoudhury, and Abhijit Sinha, is chaired by district chairman and deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee.

It was considered an anomaly and a "statement of intent" when Krishnagar MP Mahua Moitra was appointed president of the Krishnagar organizational district in Nadia after the "cash-for-query" issue.

Significant changes occurred in the two organisational districts of East Midnapore, which are close to BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Asit Banerjee, a purportedly marginalized leader of the old guard, took over as chairman of the Tamluk organizational district, replacing Soumen Mahapatra, a veteran of Trinamul. Chittaranjan Maiti was appointed as the district head. Mahapatra vowed to support the new team wholeheartedly.

Pijush Kanti Panda, a youthful politician gaining recognition for his fierce opposition to Adhikari, received Contai. Tarun Maity, the Egra MLA and outgoing district party president, is the new district chairman.

According to a source, "Trinamul identified certain vulnerabilities in East Midnapore amid the rural elections, where the BJP won multiple rural seats."

The leadership attempted to find a careful balance in order to reduce disagreement. Mridul Goswami (Alipurduar), Shaoni Singha Roy (Murshidabad), Kanai Chandra Mandal (Murshidabad), and Mahapatra—four seniors ousted from positions as president or chairperson—were promoted to state secretaries.