Sovan issues warning to workers involved in infighting

On Saturday he met the office bearer of the party’s South 24 Parganas unit at Parnasree.Though Trinamool Congress has bagged 211 seats, more than what it had received in 2011 Assembly election, party’s supremo Mamata Banerjee has asked the leaders to find out the exact cause of defeat of some of the key nominees.

Nine ministers of the former Cabinet were defeated. She has rehabilitated four of her past ministers – Manish Gupta, Chandrima Bhattacharya, Shankar Chakraborty and Upen Biswas who had lost election.She has set up a committee to find out the cause. Banerjee will meet party leaders on June 18.

Sovan Chatterjee’s message to the leaders and workers was “either obey or get out.”

He said under no circumstances would the party tolerate infighting and party’s discipline should be followed. “No one is above the party and stern action will be taken against those who support indiscipline,” he maintained.

Out of 31 seats in South 24 Parganas, TMC has bagged 29 seats. The party lost two seats, one at Jadavpur and the other one at Kultuli. In Jadavpur, former power minister Manish Gupta was defeated by Sujan Chakraborty of CPI(M).

In 2011 election, Gupta defeated Buddhadeb Bhattacharya. It was a prestige fight for the party and party supremo wants to know why people had voted against Gupta. In South 24 Parganas, the margin of victory has been reduced and Mamata Banerjee wants to know whether there was any large scale sabotage.

She also wants to know whether the party leaders had kept contact with people in the grassroot or whether they lost all their contacts with people.

Two groups of party workers from Diamond Harbour traded charges against each other and heated exchange ensued. Chatterjee pacified them and urged them to work for the development of the area together.

It was learnt that like the administration, Mamata Banerjee also wants to streamline the party and make it more effective and pro-people. The complaints found against leaders and workers will be carefully investigated and this will be followed by disciplinary action, Chatterjee maintained.

He urged the leaders to work for the development of their respective areas. “We will have to take part in the development of the area which in turn will lead to the development of the state,” he maintained.