TMC to pick candidates for panchayat polls through secret ballot

West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) will begin selecting from next week over 73000 candidates for the three-tier panchayat election through a secret ballot over two months.

Abhishek Banerjee, TMC’s national general secretary, said this was being done for the first time in the country and will help cleanse the party at the grassroots level.

He will tour across the state and camp in the districts to lead the outreach programme ahead of the polls.

The TMC has come under fire for alleged corruption and nepotism. Three legislators have been among TMC leaders arrested over corruption charges.

Banerjee, who has been vocal about weeding out corruption within the party, said he would travel around 3500 km and address over 250 rallies in the run-up to the polls. He also plans meetings with around 3000 people.

Banerjee said they want to cross-check with the grassroots people through the secret ballot before finalising the candidates. “Their opinions would supersede the suggestions we have got.”

Banerjee will travel across the state months after TMC launched another outreach involving 350 state and district-level leaders in January this year.

Political experts said the party is trying to project Banerjee as a mass leader ahead of the panchayat and the national polls next year.

“This proves that the party’s earlier outreach program has failed to bring the desired effect. This is another attempt to reach out to the people ahead of the panchayat poll to win them over through Avishek Banerjee. This will allow them to express their anger and frustration so that it doesn’t fall on EVMs. It is also an attempt to project Avishek as a leader and bring him closer to the party’s workers and supporters,” political analyst Biswanath Chakraborty said.

An official said as the ruling party has started the two-month-long outreach programme, it is unlikely the panchayat poll dates would be announced anytime soon.

“Once the dates are announced, the poll process will last over one month. Most of the rural bodies need to be formed before August. But there are provisions that they may be formed even after that.”

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party leader Samik Bhattacharya hit out at the TMC for delaying the polls as it has lost the people’s support. “All its earlier outreach programmes in the past have failed. It is now trying to reach out to people with another programme. The party is neck-deep in corruption and infighting has started. Common people are not attending the TMC’s rallies. It is only the TMC workers, police and those who are getting some benefits that are attending the rallies.”