Former Trinamool Congress councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation attended a meeting of the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee in Topsia on Saturday, where it was decided that the group would organise its own July 21 rally this year.
Many former councillors have remained inactive since the BJP’s victory in the Assembly elections. Their political isolation deepened after the KMC board was dissolved earlier this month.
Former mayor Firhad Hakim, who had attended earlier meetings of the rebel camp, skipped Saturday’s gathering. The BJP has stepped up its attack on Hakim following the collapse of an under-construction warehouse in Garden Reach that killed 16 people.
“Hakim could not attend today’s meeting because of personal reasons,” said Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman, the chief whip of the rebel bloc, who was also present at the meeting.
Akhruzzaman said they will seek permission from the police to organise this year’s July 21 rally outside Victoria House in Esplanade. “We do not know whether police will give us permission, but we would like to organise it outside Victoria House,” he said.
The battle between the rebel bloc and the faction still loyal to Mamata Banerjee over who gets to organise the July 21 rally and where is likely to heat up over the next few weeks.
According to sources, Saturday’s meeting was convened to strengthen the organisation.
“We asked the former councillors to become visible in their respective wards and to stand by party workers. We have to strengthen the organisation, and for doing that, councillors need to remain active,” said a member of the rebel bloc.
“About 55 former councillors attended the meeting. Nearly 30 other former councillors are out of town and could not attend. Another 15 have also expressed their support for us. We have about 100 former councillors with us,” the member added.