Trinamool fights own shadow in Midnapore

Midnapore: Trinamool Congress's biggest challenge in poll-bound West Midnapore is the party itself. Its decision to field the entire district leadership has left local supporters seething.
While district president Dinen Roy is contesting from Kharagpur (Rural), district working president Prodyut Ghosh will fight from Narayangarh. Asish Chakraborty, another district president, has been fielded in Garbeta.District core committee member Ramaprasad Tewari and former general secretary Shiuli Saha will contest from Kharagpur and Keshpur, respectively.
Kharagpur (Town) president Debasish Chowdhury couldn't make the cut yet again. He had thrown his weight behind Subhendu Adhikari in the 2011 assembly polls. Post 2011, when Mukul Roy packed the district leadership with his men, Chowdhury was always slighted. His supporters are peeved that a person with little or no knowledge about politics in Kharagpur has been provided a MLA ticket here.
Similar is the case with Surjya Atta, the zilla parishad Karmadyaksha in Naraynagarh. Atta had given Surjya Kanta Mishra a scare in 2011. In 2014, he increased the lead. Two years later, in 2016, he finds his rival faction leader, Ghosh, being given the ticket. Chowdhury and Atta, however, wouldn't spell out their frustration. "We hope to win Kharagpur (Town)," Chowdhury said. Atta, too, is hopeful of pulling off an upset in Narayangarh.
The going hasn't been for Dinen Roy either. A Trinamool leader has already fielded himself as an Independent against him. But Roy dismissed all talks of factionalism.
With Subhendu back in party reckoning, many feel Shiuli Saha's fate is sealed. Saha had publicly alleged that the Adhikari clan of nepotism. Her resignation and subsequent repatriation had prompted the leadership to scout for a safe seat for her. Their search ended in Keshpur. Factionalism has reared its head in this assembly segment as well. Local heavyweight Chitta Ghorai doesn't see him as a contender. "I am, and have been, a foot soldier. History is of no use," he said.