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2013 saw the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal overcoming two-and-a-half-years of incumbency and controversies, including the Saradha chit fund scam, besides rumblings within the party to sweep the panchayat and civic bodies elections.
In senior party MP Saugata Roy's words, the year was "definitely the best for the party in consolidating its political strength".
The work of "political change which was incomplete in 2009 (Lok Sabha polls) and 2011 (assembly polls) was complete with the sweeping victories in panchayats and civic bodies", he says.
The Trinamool swept the zila parishad, panchayat samiti and gram panchayat -- all three levels of rural governance.
However, the government had to face several challenges in the past one year, the recent being suspended Trinamool Congress MP Kunal Ghosh, now behind bars in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam, naming several high-profile leaders and police officers among others who "could help in revealing the truth" behind the biggest financial scandal to hit West Bengal.
With the collapse of the Saradha Group chit fund, thousands of small investors were left in the lurch.
In the aftermath of the scandal, the state government announced an inquiry commission to investigate the collapse and setting up of a Rs 500-crore relief fund to help out the depositors. Later it passed a fresh bill after withdrawing the earlier one following objections from the Centre.
Saradha Group chairman and managing director Sudipta Sen was arrested along with others in Jammu and Kashmir in April.
The Mamata Banerjee government came in for severe criticism by Opposition parties and a section of intellectuals over the the brutal rape of a college girl at Kamduni in Barasat in North 24 Paraganas district in June. Initially the family had refused to accept the compensation and the government job but accepted them after all the eight accused were arrested.
Banerjee faced rebellion in her backyard when Ghosh came out in open revolt against the party at a function here. The rebellion was seen at a blood donation camp organized by rebel Trinamool MP Somen Mitra and his wife Shikha, also a party MLA. Apart from Ghosh, two other party MPs- Shatabdi Roy and Tapas Pal- didn't shy away from venting their ire in public.
