Although the Darjeeling District Congress Lawyers’ Cell (DDCLC) has bagged a majority of the seats in the Siliguri Bar Association (SBA) elections without support from the Left-backed All India Lawyers’ Union (AILU), Trinamul Congress Legal Cell (TMCLC) will be able to keep control over the new committee after bagging four important posts of office bearers after many years.
After allegedly breaching a political understanding with the DDCLC that was in place for the past seven years, the AILU has secured only two seats this year, though it had won four last year with the help of a political understanding with the former.
The AILU experienced a setback following the alleged “unholy alliance” with the Trinamool Congress-backed TMCLC, according to political observers.
Political sources said that as the leadership of the AILU has allegedly challenged the present party policy and made a tacit seat adjustment with the TMCLC, the Darjeeling district CPIM leadership is virtually embarrassed at the situation.
“Organizational process is under progress to take appropriate steps if party leaders are found guilty,” said Darjeeling district CPIM secretary Saman Pathak.
The SBA election results of polls held on 29 April may be another model in the forthcoming elections in West Bengal, at a time when ‘Siliguri Model’, an idea conceived by CPIM strongman Asok Bhattacharya, has fallen flat, according to political observers.
Notably, to beat the Trinamool Congress, after 2011, Mr Bhattacharya’s political model of understanding with the Congress was to keep control over the Siliguri Municipal Corporation and even the Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, which was even implemented in the Assembly elections, especially in 2016.
Siliguri-based political observers believe that the DDCLC’s decision to go alone in the SBA elections may be a unique formula ahead of the panchayat polls, if it shows better results in the rural elections, and may be implemented even in the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, especially in the minority-dominated belts in West Bengal.
A group of veteran communist activists also believe that the Left should adopt a “go-alone policy” in the next elections, following the setback in the last Assembly polls in 2021.
Significantly, former CPIM leader, Dr Shankar Ghosh, who is now the BJP MLA here, in his Facebook post, raised questions on the next political understanding, to beat the BJP, following the SBA election results and the role of AILU.
“What will be the next political understanding? An understanding among three political parties, CPIM, Congress and Trinamool Congress?” Dr Ghosh said.
It may be noted here that BJP-backed candidates associated with the SBA fared poorly in the elections and failed to win a single seat.
On the other hand, the TMCLC has won the post of the President, Vice President, Assistant General Secretary and Librarian. The DDCLC has bagged the post of General Secretary, Assistant General Secretary and finally the post of the Treasurer and seven posts in the Executive Committee.
Piyush Ghosh was elected the President. Mr Ghosh has lost three times and won four times in the president’s post earlier. Alok Dhara, the former General Secretary, was elected again.