Several Muslim leaders who had defected to TMC from other parties such as Congress and BJP are now complaining of being neglected by leaders of the ruling party.
Talking to DNA, a senior leader who had switched to TMC from BJP said that he had been looked down upon from Day 1.
“I was handed over the party flag at the TMC headquarters but since then I had not been called for any core committee meeting or any important rally or had been asked to share the stage with any senior leader. We are referred to ‘Naya TMC’ (New TMC),” said the leader on condition of anonymity. He said that senior leaders of TMC don’t even reply they wish them and that he hardly gets to meet.
“When I go to meet Partha Chatterjee there are so many rounds of questioning that I feel like I am going to meet the country’s president. Sadly, I have not yet been able to meet Abhishek Banerjee,” he added.
Another such leader said that he had not given been given a portfolio even close to what he was holding. “I have not been put to any important use for several months since I joined the party and I had to take initiative myself to attend meetings of the party. There had been times when I had to request for a turn to speak at public meetings," he said
Both said that they had brought in hundreds of their supporters into the party and were mulling leaving the party but were waiting to see what Roy’s move would be – whether he would join BJP or put up his own party. “If he starts his own party I will move to it along with my supporters from the district but if he joins the BJP, I will stay back because Muslims still have the inhibition of voting for BJP,” said one of them.
Sources also said that the Nation Trinamool Congress Party (NTCP) which Roy had founded has been funded by the BJP and now that it was registered with the Election Commission of India, it would be used to break the TMC in Bengal using Roy’s organisational support base and to lend support to BJP in Bengal.
Amitava Majumder, acting president of NTCP said that Roy’s joining the party had not been confirmed yet. “We had had a word on the first week of this month and he said that he would get back to me with a concrete decision but has not done so yet,” Majumder told DNA.
On the other hand, TMC, after the exit of Roy, was busy restructuring its organisation. It was found that after Roy, who used to look after national as well as Bengal affairs of the party, it has been decided that there will be no such single person other than party supremo Mamata Banerjee who will have such power. Leaders would broadly be divided into two groups looking after India and Bengal issues.
Party sources said that MPs Derek ‘O Brien and Sudip Bandpadhyay would look after the party’s national issues including strategies at the parliament and interaction with other parties across the country.
Party general secretary Subrata Bakshi would take care of the party’s organisational strength within the state right up to the grassroot level. Sources also said that there would be a monitoring committee which would monitor the work of leaders’ national and state-level work. Members of the monitoring committee have not been fixed yet.
State technical education minister Purnendu Bose, labour minister Malay Ghatak, and Rajya Sabha member Dola Sen would take care of activities related to trade unions. State Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim and Lok Sabha MP Idris Ali will be in charge of minority division.
“All elected party representatives have been asked to be alert against sparking of any in-fighting in the party which was likely to start by Roy supporters,” said a senior TMC leader.
