TMC turmoil rages on

The turmoil that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been facing, with several high ranking ministers rebelling, seems to have decidedly taken a turn for the worse. Senior party leader Rabindranath Bhattacharya, who has already submitted a written resignation from the post of a cabinet minister has also told a press contingent at his house on Friday that he is planning to resign as an MLA as well.

Tempers were already on edge after the assault and the consequent threat to resign from old hand Sovandeb Chattopadhyay earlier on Friday. This had come on the heels of Bhattacharya alleging that a section of his partymen indulged in extorting money from the people and Banerjee herself was aware of it.

In order to placate the veteran politician who holds enormous sway over the party rank and file and is known for his clean image, several other ministers had spoken to him. Furthermore, a meeting between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the district administration, that was originally scheduled to take place at Chinsura, was shifted to Shingur, Bhattacharya's constituency. Though officially it was supposed to coincide with the laying of the foundation stone of a college there, the real intent was to placate Bhattacharya and perhaps win back popular support through a mass meeting.

The latter had to be cancelled, owing to the mood prevalent among locals. The roads, that generally overflow on any showing by the TMC supremo were deserted and a few dissidents waving black flags were removed by the police, local sources reveal. Following the meeting, Banerjee avoided all questions from journalists on the developing scenario with Bhattacharya, who was conspicuous by his absence at the meeting. “I had received no information by way of invitation, notice or circular from the party. I have to assume that I was not welcome at the meeting and therefore, chose to stay away,” Bhattachary told TSI.

Over a telephonic conversation with TSI, Bhttacharya further confirmed his intention to quit at the MLA of Shingur. Says he: “I still do not think that we have failed the people who elected us. I still have belief in Mamata (Banerjee) to be able to do good for the people of West Bengal. I am resigning over issues of health.” However, answering the question whether this meant that there were no ideological differences, he said: “I do not want to say anything publicly about that just yet. There may have been certain situations which had made it difficult for me to work with certain elements within the party. But my decision is based largely on my health.”

Analysts feel this might deal a big blow for Banerjee. Bhattacharya had been a mainstay of the Shingur movement and the farmers in the belt, a section of the votebank that had been instrumental in her rise to power. Meanwhile, strong criticism is already raining upon her from other quarters, like Markandeya Katju. The most recent was from former Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi who, while attending the

Jagadish Chandra Bose Annual memorial lecture at Kolkata's Bose Institute, aimed a thinly veiled barb at the CM, saying “Some people have been driven mad by the intoxication of power” and that power had become synonymous with money.