The infighting in the Trinamool Congress has resurfaced in Malda, following similar turmoil in Cooch Behar, following the party’s decision to change the chairman of the Old Malda municipality.
A senior Trinamool councillor demanded the removal of Malda district president Abdur Rahim Boxi for what he termed the party’s abysmal performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In last year’s parliamentary elections, Trinamool failed to win either of the two Lok Sabha seats in Malda district, with the Congress and the BJP securing one each.
With the Assembly elections round the corner, the ruling party started changing the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of several civic bodies, particularly in towns where it lagged behind the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
On November 24, the state Trinamool leadership directed Kartik Ghosh to step down as the chairman of the Old Malda municipality. He resigned the following day.
After a gap of nearly two weeks, former chairman and councillor Bibhuti Bhusan Ghosh was sworn in as the new chairman on Wednesday, while Safikul Islam retained his post as vice-chairman.
The leadership change triggered resentment among a section of councillors.
On Thursday, Basistha Trivedi, a senior Trinamool councillor of ward 5, launched a sharp attack on Boxi and the district leadership.
“Those who are to blame for Trinamool's poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections in the district are still holding on to power. The district leadership is responsible for the drubbing,” Trivedi said.
He accused Trinamool leaders of intimidation, power brokerage, and allocating posts based on monetary considerations. “For days, there were negotiations over who would become chairman. Now that the right price has been paid, the post has been handed over,” Trivedi said.
The councillor said instead of removing Kartik Ghosh alone, the district president and the sabhadhipati of the Malda zilla parishad, too, should have been changed, holding them equally responsible for the party’s poor electoral performance.
“The first person who should be removed is district president Abdur Rahim Boxi,” he said.
Trivedi also alleged irregularities in the chairman selection process, claiming that an envelope produced during the selection bore the signature of Boxi, instead of state party president Subrata Bakshi. “That is when we understood everything,” he said.
Former chairman Kartik Ghosh added to the controversy, saying he had seen a letter signed on the district president’s official pad directing his removal. “We do not know whether the instruction came from the state leadership or the district president,” he said.
The developments in Malda follow a similar controversy in Cooch Behar, where veteran Trinamool leader Rabindranath Ghosh refused to resign as chairman of the Cooch Behar municipality on the instructions of district president Abhijit De Bhowmik.
Rabindranath Ghosh maintained that he would step down only if directed to by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
In Malda, Boxi declined to comment on the issue. However, district spokesperson Ashish Kundu said the party was unaware of such statements. “Kartik Ghosh stepped down following a party decision. According to party rules, the new chairman was selected. All councillors will remain united, and the Opposition will only watch from the sidelines,” he said.
The infighting drew reactions from local BJP MLA Gopal Saha. “In most municipal wards, the BJP had secured a lead in the Lok Sabha elections, but Trinamool has failed to accept the people’s mandate. Changing the civic chairman will not help, as the people of Old Malda are with the BJP,” Saha said.