Trinamool to select its national council members at Indoor Stadium today

The organisational election of the Trinamool Congress to find out the national council members will be held on Friday.

The programme will be held at Netaji Indoor Stadium and Mamata Banerjee will be going to the venue at 1 pm and will be present at the organisational election. Banerjee came out of Congress and set up the Trinamool Congress in 1998. She has been elected head of the party in 2001, 2006 and 2012. Political experts said that the timing of the election is crucial as new political equations are developing.

The filing of FIR by CBI against 12 leaders of the party for their alleged involved in the Narada case is a major issue. Though Banerjee has over and again described CBI's move as a part of BJP's conspiracy and political vendetta but how she handles the issue is a matter to be seen. Senior party leaders met on Wednesday and discussed the matter but the party has decided that they would meet CBI officials if summoned by them.

Banerjee's meeting Naveen Patnaik which both the leaders have described as a "courtesy call" has deep political significance as Banerjee has said that the regional parties should have unity to thwart BJP's onslaught. Her statement that the regional parties are strong enough to counter BJP is very significant in view of Thursday's meeting with Patnaik. In all the recent meetings, Banerjee came down heavily on the BJP and criticised it for "its divisive politics." In one of the meetings she criticised the BJP for its Hindutva politics and said that she is a real Hindu because she follows the catholic and tolerant view of the religion. "In all the recent meetings, Banerjee has tried to unmask the pseudo Hindutva undertone of the BJP and she wants the secular crowd to oppose the intolerant attitude of BJP," political experts said.

The recent success of BJP in the by-election to Kathi South Assembly constituency by securing the second position has given a moral boost to the party leaders and workers. The by-election results have shown that there is massive erosion in the political base of Congress and the Left parties. BJP will try its best to do well in the forthcoming Panchayat election scheduled to be held in 2018 and take control of some of the Panchayats particularly in the bordering districts where there is a rise in the party's membership.

However, Banerjee is expected to soon give a roadmap on how to face the 2018 Panchayat and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and also win the confidence of the leaders who are allegedly involved in the Narada case and instill in them that the party is beside them. Also, she is likely to give a strategy how to combat "BJP's politics of hate," said an insider. On the whole, Friday's meeting is very crucial and it will give a direction to workers how to face the "political vendetta."