Rift in TMC? MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, 2 MLAs attend BJP government meeting
Veteran TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was recently replaced as the party’s Lok Sabha chief whip. On May 24, she resigned as the party’s organisational district president for Barasat.
TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar had taken moral responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Barasat region, and appealed to Mamata Banerjee to rely on veteran party workers rather than external consultants. (Photo: FB@KakoliGhoshDastidarMP) Days after she revolted against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership, party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Tuesday attended an administrative meeting held by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Two TMC MLAs also joined the meeting held at Kalyani in Nadia district.
“It is not any party programme. It is an administrative programme, and administration is for all,” Dastidar said before entering the meeting.
BJP MLA Sajal Ghosh toed the same line. “This government is not only for the BJP; this government is for all. So, Opposition should have some space in democracy,” Ghosh said.
After he became the West Bengal chief minister, Adhikari had announced in the Legislative Assembly that representatives of the Opposition would be invited to all administrative meetings so they could share their experiences.
One of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s oldest associates, Dastidar, the Barasat MP, was recently replaced as the party’s Lok Sabha chief whip. On May 24, she resigned from her post as the party’s organisational district president for Barasat, slamming the decision to hire political consultancy firm I-PAC, which, she said, created “havoc” and “ruined” the party.
A day after being replaced by Kalyan Banerjee as the chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Dastidar took to social media, posting: “Acquainted since ’76, the journey began in ’84. Today, I have been rewarded for four decades of loyalty.”
The post sparked widespread speculation, and nine days later, she officially tendered her resignation from the district leadership. Taking moral responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the Barasat region, where the TMC failed to secure its traditional stronghold, Dastidar appealed to Mamata Banerjee to rely on veteran party workers rather than external consultants.
In her letter to TMC West Bengal president Subrata Bakshi, she wrote: “My appeal to leader Mamata Banerjee is that if you work with the dedicated, old workers just like in the past, it will brighten the party’s image. I do not think difficult work can be accomplished through fly-by-night agencies.”
She further raised concerns over the governance climate in West Bengal. “Recent alarming incidents of crime and corruption in West Bengal have naturally raised questions and anxieties in the minds of the general public. To strengthen democracy further, greater importance must be given to transparency, accountability, commitment, decorum, and responsibility toward the people, along with core values,” she had said.
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