Abhishek Banerjee Skips Key Trinamool Meeting, Sparks Speculation

The absence of Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee from Thursday's crucial voter list verification meeting at the party headquarters here, the first gathering of the high-powered committee formed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week to address alleged electoral roll irregularities, has reignited speculation within the ruling party.

Although Abhishek's name was second on the committee's list, just after state president Subrata Bakshi, he did not attend the meeting.

His absence has led to renewed discussions about internal party equations, despite the perception that tensions at the top level had eased following Mamata Banerjee's public endorsement of his speech at a recent rally in Netaji Indoor Stadium.

While some party insiders downplayed the issue, others pointed to Mamata Banerjee's clear directive that all electoral rolls-related work would be conducted from the Trinamool headquarters, not from any other location, hinting at a possible shift in party dynamics.

Meanwhile, sources close to Abhishek cited his preoccupation with the concluding phase of 'Sebashray' camps in his Diamond Harbour constituency as the reason for his absence.

On Wednesday, he was present in Maheshtala for these welfare camps, and despite being in Kolkata on Thursday, he did not attend the meeting.

While the Diamond Harbour is set to hold a virtual meeting with all state committee members, district presidents, and organisational heads on March 15, some party members argue that this format exempts him from physically attending party headquarters, raising further speculation.

At Thursday's meeting, Trinamool leaders focused on dividing the responsibility of voter list verification across different districts.

Subrata Bakshi took charge of overseeing South Kolkata, while Abhishek was assigned South 24 Parganas.

A senior Trinamool leader remarked, "We are witnessing a shift from centralised power to a more decentralised model of functioning." The meeting was part of a broader initiative to counter alleged voter list manipulations by the BJP.

Earlier in the day, Trinamool leaders met district functionaries to review findings from door-to-door scrutiny, alleging that the BJP had been adding fake voters to the rolls.

Last week, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of inserting "outsider" voters with the alleged backing of the Election Commission.

She claimed similar tactics had been used in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi in previous elections.

In response, a Trinamool delegation, led by Bakshi, met the chief electoral officer (CEO) of West Bengal to press for the introduction of a 'Unique ID' for voter cards to prevent duplication and fraud.

Trinamool leaders have emphasised the urgency of ensuring clean electoral rolls, with Firhad Hakim stating, "The BJP is trying to turn Bengal's elections into a farce. Just as Aadhaar and passports have unique identification numbers, voter cards too must have a Unique ID." The Election Commission has maintained that the voter list updation process is conducted transparently with the involvement of booth-level officers (BLOs) appointed by political parties.

However, Trinamool has insisted on more stringent checks, including physical verification of names added online. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)