The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is considering a proposal to bifurcate its organisation in Birbhum district to curb internal conflicts among its top leadership. However, the party’s senior leadership is yet to approve the move.
During the most recent Core Committee meeting, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee reportedly issued a direct instruction to Anubrata Mondal, urging him not to take unilateral decisions or organise political events independently.
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Currently, the Birbhum district unit of TMC is led by two prominent figures: Anubrata Mondal, head of the core committee based in Bolpur, and Kajal Sheikh, the sabhadhipati of Birbhum zilla parishad and a protégé of Abhishek Banerjee, TMC’s national general secretary and a leader from the Nanoor region.
Anubrata Mondal, who served as TMC’s Birbhum district president for over a decade, was arrested by the CBI and later by the ED in connection with the cross-border cattle smuggling case. Following nearly two years in Tihar Jail, he has not been reinstated in his previous post since his release.
Sources suggest that the district may be divided into two organisational zones — Santiniketan and Birbhum. The proposed Santiniketan zone would encompass Ketugram, Ausgram, and Mongalkote (from East Burdwan district) along with Bolpur subdivision. The remainder of Birbhum district would fall under the Birbhum organisational zone. However, this proposal is still awaiting approval from the state TMC’s apex committee.
Senior party leaders believe that splitting the organisation could help mitigate the ongoing rivalry between the two key figures in the district. Both Kajal Sheikh and Anubrata Mondal currently receive Y-category security coverage from the state police.
Dr Ashish Banerjee, deputy Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, is the chairperson of TMC in Birbhum. Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that decisions in the district must be made collectively by the nine-member Core Committee.