Ministers to ‘cure’ TMC factional migraine

For example,at least 129 Trinamool candidates have withdrawn their nomination from the panchayat and zilla parishad seats in Aushgram Block I and Aushgram Block II in Burdwan district. There were 92 gram panchayat seats,18 panchayat samity seats and two zilla parishad seats in Aushgram Block I,in which more than one Trinamool candidate had filed nominations for a single seat. However,after being summoned by senior leaders,one faction of the party withdrew all its candidates.

Chanchal Garai,senior Trinamool leader of Aushgram block,said,“We have withdrawn all our candidates as the party’s senior leaders have selected the candidates from another faction. We did not get the party symbol. Since there is no point in fighting the election as independent candidates,we have withdrawn all our candidates.”

A couple of days ago,Trinamool secretary general and Industry Minister Partha Chatterjee summoned all the Trinamool leaders who were at loggerhead in Bankura,West Midnapore,Burdwan and Birbhum districts,and asked them to put an end to the factional clash.

Another Trinamool leader Chitta Garai was forced to withdraw his nomination for the zilla parishad seat in Keshpur,West Midnapore. He was the only Trinamool leader who had been fighting against the CPM in Keshpur,which is a Left citadel.

Garai said,“I have withdrawn my nomination as the party did not give me the symbol. I am a Trinamool member and I do not want to be an independent candidate. I have accepted the party’s decision. The party named its official candidate late and that is why

I had to withdraw.”

In Bankura,there are reports that the party has accommodated Prabir Garai,a senior leader of PCAPA,a frontal organisation of Maoists. Prabir,who served a jail term as PCAPA leader,is the husband of Suchitra Mahato,a senior Maoist leader who surrendered to the state government a year ago.

Senior TMC leader Basudeb Mukherjee filed his nomination for a zilla parishad seat in Bankura. However,he did not get the party symbol and Prabir was selected as official nominee. He will contest as an Independent.