Mamata announces rejig in Trinamool with one eye on 2021 assembly polls

Sets up two state-level panels, appoints new officce bearers at district level, cancels all other ad-hoc appointments

With an eye on assembly elections in 2021, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress announced a major reshuffle in the party organisation on Thursday.

Banerjee today announced a state coordination committee of 21 members. The committee will be the nodal authority for organisational and party affairs and will be responsible for the overall supervision, guidance, management and coordination with all district units. 

A seven-member steering committee will manage day-to-day affairs of the party across the state, the Trinamool Congress said in a statement.

At the district level too, there was a complete overhaul. A list of new Trinamool district office bearers with was announced today. Consequently, all incumbent district units of Trinamool Congress stand dissolved. 

A statement from the party said that all other ad-hoc appointments at the district level and below stand cancelled with immediate effect.

The newly-appointed district office bearers will form district, block and other relevant committees for their respective regions in consultation with the State Coordination Committee and share the same with the convenor of the committee within seven days for approval of the party chairperson. Each district would not only have a chairman and president, but coordinators as well. 

The rejig comes in the wake of growing challenges facing the party. On the one hand it was dealing with factionalism and allegations of corruption at the district level from the Opposition parties, on the other, it was fighting to check the spread of Covid-19 which was on the surge in the state. For the last few days Bengal has been adding more than 2,000 Covid-19 cases on a daily basis.

Recently, West Bengal Governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, in a meeting with Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, had flagged several issues like Covid-19 related deaths, law and order and corruption in distribution of Amphan relief.