Calcutta, June 2: The Mamata Banerjee government today did not hold elections in a co-operative bank in West Midnapore, ignoring a Calcutta High Court order, ostensibly because all officials are on panchayat-poll duty.

Party sources, however, said the elections in Vidyasagar Co-operative Bank, the biggest such in the district, were kept in abeyance on Mamata’s say-so for fear of infighting in Trinamul bursting out in the open.

“There is a battle between Subhendu Adhikari, the MP from Tamluk, and Mukul Roy, Trinamul’s all-India general secretary, over controlling the bank as both of them are trying to strengthen their foothold in West Midnapore. The chief minister doesn’t want more trouble by holding an election,” said a party source.

The chief minister cannot allow an internal feud before the panchayat polls as the party is keen to wrest control of the West Midnapore zilla parishad from the Left.

A senior official in the cooperative election commission, however, said: “We had to put elections to all such bodies on hold as almost all officials of the co-operative department have been engaged for panchayat polls.”

The official also revealed that the home department had expressed inability to provide security for the elections, again because of the panchayat polls.

Set up after the change of guard at Writers’ to hold elections in co-operative societies, the commission will move the division bench tomorrow, offering these two reasons for failure to carry out the high court order.

Petitioners will also move the high court tomorrow saying the state has not held the election as directed.

For political parties, having control over the co-operative bank is helps in exerting influence over a large part of West Midnapore as it provides credit and technical support to farmers in at least 15 blocks of the district.

The Trinamul source said: “Co-operative societies play an important role in the daily lives of farmers by providing farm loan on easy terms. This is why the two MPs are desperate to take control of the bank.”

Not just over Vidyasagar Bank, but the party feud has spread to hundreds of co-operative societies across the state.

This is the reason the co-operative election commission was forced to put elections in nearly 2,000 societies on hold through a May 24 notification. It said that because of the panchayat polls, elections in these societies could not be held for security reasons.

The notification was challenged when Bulbul Hazra and others moved the high court, demanding that elections be held as scheduled, on June 2. Justice I.P. Mukherji gave an order on May 30, observing that the reasons cited by the government were not tenable.

“The panchayat elections are slated be held on and from 2nd July, 2013.… Therefore there is no rational co-relation between the need for posting police personnel and government officials for the panchayat election and holding of instant election, considering the gap of time,” Justice Mukherjee said in his order.

Commission sources said the chief minister was keen on postponing the Vidyasagar Bank election despite the order. “If election to the bank was held, other societies where elections have been held up might also go to court seeking permission, which could have fuelled the feud within the ruling party in almost all districts,” said a source.

About 2,500 co-operative societies are now being run through special officers as the government had dissolved their elected boards by promulgating an ordinance on February 4 this year.