Trinamool Congress readies to identify & isolate Mukul Roy's followers

KOLKATA: The ruling Trinamool Congress has begun an exercise to identify and isolate its members who continue to be loyal to senior leader Mukul Roy after his falling out with party’s chairperson and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The move comes amid apprehensions that Roy’s followers may sabotage the party in the elections to the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and 93 other civic bodies in the state that are likely to take place in April.

Banerjee’s followers believe Roy’s supporters could quit Trinamool Congress in case Roy floats his own organisation. However, Banerjee is not ready to take any action against such MPs, MLAs and leaders at this stage, a party member said. The party may deny tickets to Roy’s supporters to contest next year’s assembly polls, though, the member added.

Trinamool Congress appears to be divided into Roy’s supporters and those backing Banerjee, with the latter fearing a split in the organisation under Roy’s leadership.

Roy’s son and party MLA from Bijpur in North 24-Parganas district, Subhransu, has already indicated that his father was being humiliated by a section of Trinamool leaders and said that if necessary he will be by his father’s side in the days ahead.

Subhransu has also rebutted Banerjee’s claim that a section of Trinamool leaders had sabotaged the party in Kalyani assembly segment of the Bongaon Lok Sabha during the recent by-elections.

Banerjee had recently complained in a closed-door meeting with her MLAs that the party’s vote share in Kalyani assembly segment was less than that of the BJP and that she suspected a sabotage.

Roy’s son argued that Trinamool’s vote share in Bhowanipore assembly segment under Kolkata South Lok Sabha seat was lesser than that of the BJP, and asked why the party didn’t raise the issue of sabotage in case of Bhowanipore, which is represented by Banerjee in the assembly.