Dynasty politics in the Trinamul Congress has spread its wings beyond Harish Chatterjee Street, going by the list of candidates announced by the party on Sunday for the Calcutta Municipal Corporation elections.

The list includes sons, daughters and a brother, sister, son-in-law and a sister-in-law of several party leaders - a move dubbed by many as an attempt by Mamata Banerjee to keep her flock together in the face of the BJP's challenge and fight murmurs of criticism within Trinamul for nephew Abishek Banerjee's rise.

There are five families from which two members each have been given tickets. They include Mamata's former election agent Satchida Nanda Banerjee and his son-in-law Arup Chakraborty. Seven other candidates are related to party leaders.

Asked about the list, Mukul Roy, who has recently been removed as Trinamul's all-India general secretary, said: "There is no experiment in the choice of candidates. The party has reposed faith in the old faces. Manush doler opor aastha rakhley bojha jabey (it is to be seen whether the public reposes faith in the party)."

The list comprises 143 candidates for the 144 wards. Leaders said the candidate for ward 13 would be decided after the chief minister returned from Delhi.

"Mamatadi made the final selection. She wanted to include fresh faces but with a strong political background," said a Trinamul leader close to Mamata.

The civic polls, tentatively scheduled for April 18, would be held under the shadow of the CBI probe into the Saradha scam and the anointment of Abhishek as her successor in the party.

Abhishek, the Diamond Harbour MP, heads Trinamul's youth wing at both the national and state levels. His rise in the party is seen as a key reason for the souring of ties between Mamata and Mukul.

"There is no denying the fact that a campaign is on against Abhishek in the party. By giving tickets to family members of other leaders, Didi has sent across a message that she is ready to give a chance to others as well," a Trinamul leader said.

"There is no reason for anyone to complain. Didi gave preference to the next of kin of leaders in the wards that have seen a change in character," another leader said. He cited the example of minister Javed Ahmed Khan. In 2010, ward 66 (from which Javed was elected) had been reserved for women and his wife Rafat Javed got the ticket.

"This time the seat has again become a general one and the couple's son Faiz Ahmed Khan has been nominated," said a Trinamul leader.

Among the most prominent family members who will contest the polls are Sandip Bakshi, younger brother of Trinamul's newly-appointed all-India general secretary Subrata Bakshi, and Sana Ahmed, daughter of party MLA and councillor Iqbal Ahmed.

Former CPM councillor Mohammad Amin Ansari will contest on a Trinamul ticket along with his brother, sitting Trinamul councillor Shamsuzzaman Ansari. Congress councillors Mala Roy and Suman Singh, who have just switched to Trinamul, have been given tickets, too.