Mamata introduces ‘one person, one post’ in TMC; splits districts into multiple smaller units

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee dropped several state ministers from holding the post of district presidents, even as she introduced the ‘one person one post’ policy while splitting some of the larger districts into smaller organisational units in a bid to decentralise the present structure.

Prominent among leaders whose names were dropped from the post of district presidents were TMC MP Mahua Moitra who was the district president of Nadia, state irrigation minister Saumen Mahapatra, who was the president of East Midnapore district, state forest minister Jyotipriyo Mullick who was the president of North 24 Parganas, state cooperation minister Arup Roy who was in charge of Howrah and PHE minister Pulak Roy who was the president of Howrah rural.

Senior leaders of the party said that the changes were made in view of the civic body election, which are overdue, as well as the 2023 panchayat polls and Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

“In July, political strategist Prashant Kishor and chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting in Kolkata to discuss the changes. The meeting, which continued for three hours, was held at the chief minister’s residence at Kalighat in south Kolkata. Her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was also present,” said a senior leader.

According to the new set up, the larger administrative districts including Kolkata, were split into multiple organizational units and new committees, with a president heading each of these, have been created.

“Even though the party has managed to win 213 out of the 292 assembly seats in some districts the performance was not satisfactory. The new set up has been planned to focus on smooth operation and check infighting among local leaders, something that has affected the party’s image at the grass root level,” said another senior party leader.

While West Bengal has 23 administrative districts, the TMC has split them into 35 organisational units. Districts like Murshidabad and Nadia have been divided into two parts, while North 24 Parganas have been split into four areas.

Even though the TMC returned to power for the third consecutive time, Banerjee lost to her protege-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari from Nandigram in East Midnapore. The district has been split into two parts, Tamluk and Contai. Nandigram from where Banerjee lost falls under Tamluk.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a similar organizational structure with around 39 such smaller units carved out from larger administrative districts. It has two units in Murshidabad and Nadia. Each of these is headed by a president. In North 24 Parganas, which has 34 assembly and five Lok Sabha seats, the BJP has four units. The BJP refers to these units as organizational districts.

“It was not possible for a minister or a MP to look after an entire district. They would be there to guide but the party wants to give more importance to young leaders and local leaders, following Kishor’s advice to shake up the rank and file,” said a TMC leader.

The BJP, however, took a jibe at the TMC’s latest announcement saying that the ‘one person one post’ policy doesn’t seem to be applicable for Mamata Banerjee herself, who holds multiple portfolios from party’s chairperson, chairperson of the TMC parliamentary party and chief minister with several departments under her including home and hill affairs, information and cultural affairs and land and land reforms among others.

“This is a kind of oligarchy but even an oligarchy requires some kind of consensus. The TMC is like a private limited company which was set up by a woman who takes all the decisions. She is the owner, and her wish is the last word in the party. Hence talking about such changes like ‘one person, one post’ is a waste of time,” said Samik Bhattacharya, BJP spokesperson.

“Why don’t BJP leaders mind their own business and focus on how to manage their own party? Will they now decide as to who would hold which post in the TMC?” said Chandrima Bhattacharya, senior TMC leader and minister.