Hooghly, 29 March (H.S.):

Trinamool Congress leader and outgoing Chinsurah MLA Asit Majumdar has once again gone vocal against his own party after being denied a ticket for the upcoming Assembly elections, launching a sharp attack on party MP Rachna Banerjee and accusing her of promoting factionalism.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Majumdar alleged that Banerjee does not want the party’s candidate Debangshu Bhattacharya to win the election. He claimed that if the candidate performs poorly, Banerjee should be held responsible.

“Rachna does not have the mindset to work with everyone. Abhishek Banerjee has repeatedly said that everyone should work together, but she is not following that,” Majumdar said. He further alleged that Banerjee influenced Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against him, which led to denial of his ticket.

Expressing his resentment, Majumdar said that despite still being an MLA, his name is not being included in party programmes. He alleged that around 74 MLAs who were denied tickets have been insulted.

In a strong challenge, Majumdar said, “If Rachna has the courage, she should contest as an independent candidate from Chinsurah. I will also contest as an independent. If I fail to secure more votes than her, I will shave my head and roam across Hooghly district.”

Taking a dig at the party’s internal functioning, he also claimed that senior and old party workers are no longer being trusted, and accused Banerjee of misleading the top leadership with false information.

Responding to the allegations, Banerjee said that new candidates are selected by the party supremo along with Abhishek Banerjee, while the continuation of sitting candidates depends on people’s trust, support and performance. She added that political consultancy group I-PAC also plays a role in the selection process, and candidates are repeated based on their performance and feedback.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey