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It’s now out in the open. Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and legislators who have been toeing the party’s line publicly for all these years have now started speaking out on what is wrong in the party, after its humiliating defeat at the hands of BJP in the Assembly elections.After former Minister of State for Sports and cricketer Manoj Tiwary fired the first salvo, calling the Mamata Banerjee government “corrupt” that “deserved to be cast away”, other TMC leaders like MP and actor Dev have started speaking out against the party leadership, with some even blaming general secretary and Mamata’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, for the electoral debacle.“Lobbies, lobbies and lobbies. The party is infected with lobby and factionalism,” said TMC MLA Niamot Sheikh, who won from Hariharpara in Murshidabad district. Sheikh, who had attended Wednesday’s meeting of TMC Legislature Party meeting at party supremo Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, said the leadership allowed factionalism in the party, which ultimately led to the defeat. “There are so many factions of the party in Murshidabad itself. I have repeatedly warned the party higher-ups regarding this. I was ignored. They thought it was better not to pay heed to me. The top leadership thought that more the factions, more the competition and better the position. If one raised questions, they would back the other lobby. It is a fact that when one becomes the party’s candidate in the polls, the other lobbies will not work for him,” Sheikh told The Indian Express over the phone without naming anyone in particular. “Then there was technology,” Sheikh said, adding that party leadership placed a lot of emphasis on technology like social media campaigns etc. “They undermined the human factor,” he added. Sheikh, who defeated Humayun Kabir’s nominee by over 12,000 votes, said suspending him just before the elections was not a wise call. Kabir was suspended from TMC after he went ahead with his plan to build a Babri-like mosque in Murshidabad district. Kabir formed the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AUJP), and went on to win two seats from where he contested. “I don’t know whose lobby brainwashed our supreme leader (Mamata Banerjee) against Humayun Kabir. They brainwashed her against Humayun and he got suspended. Humayun did what he could, and floated a new party. In Murshidabad, like in other areas, Muslim vote got divided,” he added. Akhruzzaman, the TMC MLA from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district, also blamed the division in Muslim votes behind the party’s defeat in the minority-dominated areas. “Muslims voted for everyone else but the TMC and BJP. We used to get all the Muslims votes. The votes were divided. I know the reasons but I cannot tell you,” said Akhruzzaman, who defeated Congress candidate Nasir Saikh by over 40,000 votes. Another TMC MLA from Murshidabad district, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said, “Our Muslim vote bank cracked, while the Hindu votes consolidated towards the BJP”, adding that the party has changed a lot in the past few years. “Our voices never reached the top. The party was dependent on a professional agency (I-PAC) which acted as middlemen,” the leader said, disagreeing with Mamata’s decision to not accept the defeat and refusing to resign as the chief minister. “I believe we should accept defeat, and start rebuilding the party. Not accepting defeat is further tarnishing our image among the people,” the TMC MLA said. TMC MLA from Bagnan in Howrah district, Arunabha Sen, was also critical of Mamata’s decision to not resign. The four-time MLA, Sen, said, “Mamata Banerjee is a big name. She can only say what decision she took and why. But as an insignificant MLA of the party, I can only say that had I been the chief minister, I would have resigned after such a defeat of the party in the election.” “It is true that we faced hostility during counting. Even after that, I stayed at the counting centre. I have faith that people voted for me, and I will win,
