The South Dinajpur district unit of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is all set to organize its two-day 22nd district conference at Tapan beginning on Friday.

On Republic Day, Member of Parliament from the Raiganj constituent assembly, Md Salim, and state secretary committee member, Nripen Chowdhury, will be addressing a public rally at the Tapan Karbala ground. Political analysts in the district are expecting new faces to replace the old ones who are continuing in their post since decades and are at present inactive.

It is also learnt that the district committee will be formed on Saturday after debates and discussions among the leaders. At present, the chair of the district secretary is held by Narayan Biswas and there are 37 members in the committee.

Zonal committees were formed in December last. According to the CPI-M party structure, there are 11 zonal committees in South Dinajpur, where Balurghat, Tapan and Gangarampur have two zonal committees, while Hili, Kumarganj, Banshihari, Harirampur and Kushmandi have one committee each

In 2015, Narayan Biswas was selected as the secretary. While there was no remarkable change in the district committee then, a group of young party members have demanded recruitment of new faces in the district committee presently, party sources said. “In the recent past, the Revolutionary Socialist Party organised a number of political movements in Balurghat and throughout the district.

The CPI-M and its wings have, however, not been seen on the streets for the past two years. Moreover, prominent leaders of the party are switching over to other parties. Inclusion of new and young faces is a must to bring in a change in the party.

Youngblood is needed to give the party a momentum,” a young leader claimed. “We have a large number of supporters in Tapan and we have selected the block for the district conference for the first time. A new committee will be formed according to party guidelines. Prior to the panchayat polls, this fresh board will create a new momentum among our party comrades,” District secretary, Mr Biswas said.