Mamata Banerjee will on Saturday chair the first major organisational meeting of the Trinamul Congress since the Assembly elections, where she is likely to announce some decisions to ensure better performance of the party, especially in areas where it still remains weak.
Besides Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the top tier of the leadership, including the likes of Subrata Bakshi, Partha Chatterjee, Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, besides poll consultant Prashant Kishor, would be present at the meeting at Trinamul Bhavan.
“All of this remains in the realm of speculation, as she is unpredictable, with a bit of a reputation for last-minute surprises and U-turns. But some of these things are very likely to take place tomorrow… things such as Abhishek being given more importance, formally, in the parent party, a “one person, one post” policy being adopted,” said a minister, on the condition of anonymity.
“There will be attention to rewarding performers and sidelining of those who could not deliver even amid such a historic mandate in our favour. Changes in order to minimise conflict within are likely to be prioritised,” he said, adding that districts where Trinamul did not do well — such as Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, Bankura and Purulia — are likely to see drastic changes in the party organisation.
A Trinamul vice-president said Kishor and his team, having contributed substantially to the turnaround since the Lok Sabha polls of 2019, are also back after a month’s leave.
“PK and his team are now likely to focus, over the next three years, on charting a path for her in national politics... This is the most opportune moment, in her entire political career, for that, given the national scene. It is also a very convenient time for the party,” said the vice-president.
“Of course, Team PK will not focus on Delhi at the cost of the state. It will be in tandem, all in a deft balance…. Complacence or letting our guard down now could leave the door ajar for the BJP to make quick inroads here, once again,” he added.
Also attending the meeting, virtually or otherwise, would be the party’s MPs, MLAs, and key representatives from 120-odd civic bodies of the state.
Civic polls in Bengal, deferred because of the pandemic since last year, have to be conducted at some stage, when the Covid-19 situation improves.
“There will be some instructions for the civic bosses, as the civic polls – where we no longer fear major losses – will be held in a matter of months, depending on the pandemic situation,” said a south Bengal MLA associated with a civic body.