Locals trace genesis of faction feud between one-time protege and mentor to 2021 KMC ward reservation
Times of India | 11 June 2024
Kolkata: The move to reserve KMC’s Ward 107 seat for women has now spiralled into a no-holds-barred conflict between councillors of two wards, with a protege taking on her one-time mentor. Trinamool MP Mala Roy trailed from this ward this Lok Sabha election.
The bomb attacks and firing on Sunday night at Kasba’s Indu Park blew the lid off a Trinamool faction conflict between Ward 108 councillor Sushanta Ghosh and Lipika Manna, councillor of Ward 107, which includes parts of Tiljala, Kasba, Haltu and East Kolkata township.Ghosh had been the councillor at Ward 107 twice since 2010 till the seat was reserved for women. Following the move, Manna, Ghosh’s former protege, was elected as the councillor from Ward 107 in 2021. Issues like the ward’s poor performance in LS polls, feuds between the two councillors to gain control over a club, Moitree Sangha, on P Majumdar Road in Haltu and Ghosh’s alleged interference with Manna’s work came to the fore after the first round of clash that took place on Saturday night.
But sources said the main reason behind the incident was a conflict between the two councillors to gain control over a nearly 5-cottah plot, where 10 families lived in shanties. Manna had allegedly asked for rents from those families some days ago, while Ghosh told his men to stop it, said the source. “This resulted in the factional conflict. In the past, the two councillors’ followers had locked their horns on various issues,” said a party worker. A source claimed Manna had “the blessings of an influential MLA, who was opposed to Ghosh”.
Asked about the conflict, Ghosh said, “The Ward 107 councillor has no control over the goons in her area. People living there are terrified of the bombings and shootings. I have apprised the party leadership of the matter. Those who have been with Trinamool for many years in the area are being targeted. It is a ploy to make them sever ties with me and prevent me from entering the area. I urge the party leadership to look into the matter.”
Some slum dwellers in the Indu Park area, also Trinamool supporters, claimed Manna had not done any work after becoming a councillor in 2021. They even alleged that her supporters were trying to force Ghosh’s followers to join her group. A resident claimed, “On Sunday, Ghosh lodged a police complaint about the attack by some miscreants, led by Manna. At night, they attacked us again, hurled bombs and opened fire.” Manna called the claims baseless and false. She said, “There is no factional conflict in my ward. The clash was the fallout of a dispute between a landowner and tenants. The truth will emerge as time comes.”