Todays Congress rally will demonstrate that the state unit of the party remains a divided house. Party president, Sitaram Kesri will be addressing the rally, while an important section of party leaders would be boycotting it.
The meeting is part of the fortnight-long Netaji birth centenary celebrations. State Congress president, Somen Mitra has staked his reputation on the success of the programme, which includes an exhibition - Bharat Mela - and the party rally on the Brigade Parade Ground, the citys largest meeting place.
The dissidents led by Mitras detractor, Mamata Banerjee, the state Youth Congress president, has raised an interesting issue to boycott the programme. The Left Front government has come forward to make the Bharat Mela a success, by asking its various departments to put up stalls. This, according to Banerjee, is a clear case of a secret understanding between the Mitra faction of the party and the Left Front government. Banerjee has one simple question: How can the party criticise the state government at the rally when its exhibition will be displaying success stories of nearly a dozen government departments? But, according to Mamata, There is some transaction between the two.
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Mitra, however, has defended himself by claiming that the AICC session in 1983 in Calcutta had also seen participation by the Left Front government, in the exhibition which was part of that session. He reiterates that the governments participation will not dilute the party units agitational programme against the state government. The state Congress president claims that Wednesdays meeting will be the beginning of the partys battle to destroy the red bastion in Bengal.
However, he has failed to answer the main allegation: that asking the state departments to display their success at the exhibition contradicts the partys stance that the government has failed in all respects.
The state information minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya, has justified his governments participation in the Bharat Mela, by saying that it is merely exploiting the opportunity to present its success stories before a large audience since the Mela is expected to draw a large crowd.
Banerjee has scored her point well. She is also confident that her boycotting of the meeting and the programme is not going to attract any disciplinary measures. Rather, Mitra has been put on the defensive and has been forced to repeatedly explain his decision to ask the state departments to put up stalls.
It was Banerjee who had first left Narasimha Raos camp and lent support to Kesri. Mitra was a late starter, but is now sure that Kesri is in no hurry to change the state party leadership. But, Banerjees decision to boycott the meeting will underscore the point that Mitra is unable to preside over the entire party.
Mitras term being over, he is now only an ad hoc president of the state unit. Banerjee has no intention to give him peace. And, no other accusation hurts a Congressman more than the one that he has secret underdstanding with the leftists.
The Left Front government must have taken a conscious decision to participate in the Mela to boost Mitra. After all, Banerjee is more dangerous to them. Political analysts wonder if the resultant controversy has actually boosted Banerjees political fortunes even more.