Keeping the electoral equation in mind the TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has elected a Muslim and a scheduled caste leader as two deputy leaders of the TMC parliamentary party.
Today after a meeting of the newly elected members of her party Mamata announced that Sultan Ahmed and Gobinda Naskar had been elected as two deputy leaders of the parliamentary party.
Mamata had been unanimously elected as the leader of the parliamentary party. Sultan Ahmed has won from Uluberia by defeating CPIM’s Hannan Molla and Gobinda Naskar won from Bangaon by defeating CPIM’s Asim Bala.
A large chunk of Muslim and scheduled caste communities did voted for the opposition this time to make their victory a big success.
By electing these two representatives from these communities ignoring the claims of more politically seasoned leaders like Saugata Roy and Sudip Banerjee, Mamata must have wanted to send signal to the right quarters.
The meeting also endorsed a decision to support the Congress led government at the centre. Mukul Roy, a TMC member of Rajya Sabha, has rushed to Delhi with a letter from TMC to the President of India informing her of their decision.
The TMC has also included the name of the lone SUCI member from Jaynagar in the list of MPs taking their strength to 20 in the house. Mamata explained that the SUCI had been with the TMC in the last three years and fought the election as a part of the coalition and she intended to keep them as block in and outside the house. SUCI, a party with strong left leanings has been opposing the Left since 1977.
But it was only Singur and Nandigram that brought them closer to the TMC. As a hang up from the past the SUCI leaders are bitterly opposed to having anything to don with the Congress, let alone lending their written support to the Congress. During the Lok Sabha election they tried to make this distinction clear by putting up candidates wherever they could against the Congress. Mamata is not unaware of their sensitivity. But, she indicated that she would be able to talk them out of it for the greater cause at hand, the fight against the ruling Left in Bengal.
