Oct. 13: Mamata Banerjee today announced Sabyasachi Dutta and Jitendra Tewari as the mayors of Bidhannagar and Asansol, respectively, the choices made with an eye on next year's Assembly elections rather than personal preferences and allegiance.

Dutta was assigned the task of helming the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, comprising Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Gopalpur, even though he was close to former Trinamul all-India general secretary Mukul Roy, who has fallen foul of the leadership.

Many in Trinamul, however, said Dutta's selection had not surprised them.

"Dutta proved his credentials as a match winner as he got most of his candidates elected as councillors. He has influence in both Salt Lake and Rajarhat, which even Didi could not ignore. His clout will stand us in good stead in the Assembly elections," a Trinamul source said.

Before the chief minister's announcement at Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra around 4.30pm, the outgoing chairperson of the erstwhile Bidhannagar municipality, Krishna Chakraborty, a long-time Mamata loyalist, walked into the venue alone and grim-faced and told journalists she was not going to be the mayor.

Chakraborty was made the chairperson of the new civic body, while the deputy mayor's post went to former CPM leader and ex-chairperson of the Rajarhat-Gopalpur municipality, Tapas Chatterjee, who is said to be at odds with Dutta.

"There is a message behind Chatterjee being made the deputy mayor. He was handpicked by Abhishek (Mamata's nephew and Diamond Harbour MP) and he has been given the post to make Sabyasachi realise that Didi is keeping him under watch. It also shows that Didi is doing a balancing act by keeping all factions happy before the elections next year," a Trinamul minister said.

Party sources said Dutta had played his cards well since Roy's fall from grace.

"Although other MLAs who were close to Mukulda, such as Silabhadra Dutta and Siuli Saha, were suspended from the party, Dutta had it relatively easy because of his political abilities. He was removed as the party's observer for Tripura. That helped him concentrate on the civic polls," a source said.

"There was a possibility that Sabyasachi could join forces with Mukulda if he was left out in the cold. But Didi has nipped such a possibility in the bud," the minister said.

Before the civic elections, a large section of the Marwari community, who make up 32 per cent of Salt Lake's population, had rallied behind Dutta.

After the announcement at Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra, Mamata took Chakraborty along with her to the inauguration of a dandia event, which the Trinamul sources said was the chief minister's way of expressing that she still had faith in her.

According to the Trinamul sources, Chakraborty could be given a ticket in the 2016 Assembly polls.

Jitendra Tewari, the outgoing chairperson of the Asansol Municipal Corporation, has been made the mayor of the Greater Asansol Municipal Corporation. Tabassum Ara has been made the deputy mayor. Trinamul insiders said Mamata opted for Tewari and Ara to prevent the BJP from taking any advantage in the area, which is dominated by Hindi-speaking voters.

Although the BJP has lost considerable ground since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Mamata's message was clear.

"She chose Tewari over outgoing mayor Tapas Banerjee because she wanted a non-Bengali face. This is a masterstroke. The appointment of a mayor from the Hindi-speaking population will make the BJP's task harder in Asansol," a Trinamul leader said.

Mamata said Tapas Banerjee had proposed the name of Tewari as mayor. "Tapas did not want to continue as the mayor as the civic body has widened and with the Assembly elections approaching, he wanted to concentrate on his constituency," Mamata said.

The Trinamul insiders, however, said the skirmishes in Asansol between Tapas Banerjee and labour minister Malay Ghatak had prompted Mamata to look for a new face.