Elections 2014: Mamata Banerjee likely to deny tickets to 4 sitting MPs

KOLKATA: The dates to the next year’s parliamentary elections are yet to be announced, but ruling Trinamool Congress has begun shortlisting its candidates for the polls. There are indications Mamata Banerjee may deny tickets to at least four sitting MPs.

It is almost certain that two rebel MPs, Somen Mitra who won at Diamond Harbour and Kabir Suman, the sitting MP from Jadavpur, will not get tickets this time. Mitra quit Trinamool Congress in January while Kabir Suman is utterly disliked by Mamata and other senior party leaders. Kabir Suman rose against chief minister and the other party leadership within a few months of his victory from Jadavpur in 2009.

Informed sources in the party say Mamata is not very pleased with her Birbhum MP and actor Shatabdi Roy. The party has already removed Roy from the post of chairperson of the Sreeniketan-Shantiniketan Development Authority (SSDA). Sitting party MP from Krishnanagar and actor Tapas Pal is also not in the good book of the chief minister. Pal had shared a platform in Kolkata recently along with rebel MP Mitra and criticised the leadership. Roy was also there at the function attended by party’s expelled MP Kunal Ghosh, who is currently in jail for his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Sharada scam.

It is learnt that Mamata had taken strong exception to these two MPs act of sharing the platform with Mitra and Ghosh.