Amit Shah's 'bhaipo' dig at Mamata during Bengal visit: What does it mean

During the election campaign for the 2021 West Bengal election, the term 'bhaipo' was repeatedly used by the BJP.

• Amit Shah accuses Mamata Banerjee's govt of corruption and nepotism in Bengal
• Shah accuses Abhishek Banerjee of corruption, calls him "bhaipo"
• TMC's Abhishek responds, saying BJP leaders avoid naming him directly

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Ahead of the 2026 West Bengal election, Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday took a “bhaipo" jibe at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek.

Without naming him directly, Shah, at a public meeting, trained his guns on Abhishek, remarking that under the current dispensation, “only Bhaipo has the right to make money, not the common man”.

The Union Home minister alleged that the last 15 years of the Trinamool Congress regime in West Bengal have been marked by corruption, fear and infiltration. “Due to corruption under the Mamata Banerjee-led government in the state, development in West Bengal has stopped," Shah said.

He alleged that all central beneficial schemes have become victims of the “toll syndicate” in Bengal. “Fear and corruption have become West Bengal’s identity for the last 14 years,” he said.

What does ‘bhaipo’ mean?

‘Bhaipo’ in Bengali means nephew. Shah was referring to Abhishek Banerjee, the son of Mamata’s elder brother Amit.

The term dovetails with Mamata’s nickname, didi, or older sister, which is how she’s fondly referred to by every leader, worker and supporter of Trinamool.

Abhishek’s rise in the Trinamool drove opposition parties to refer to Mamata as “pishi”, or aunt. With Abhishek being the only member from Mamata’s family to enter politics, her government has even been dubbed the “Pishi-Bhaipor Sarkar”, or the government of the aunt and nephew.

2021 assembly election

During the election campaign for the 2021 West Bengal election, the term ‘bhaipo’ was repeatedly used  by the BJP to attack Trinamool Congress. ““You care only for your nephew,” home minister Amit Shah said on December 19, while addressing a public meeting in West Midnapore in February 2021. “‘When do I make him the chief minister, that’s all you care about while the people of the state keep suffering.” Shah accused Mamata of running a government of Tolabaji-Tushtikaran-Bhatijakaran, or extortion, appeasement, and “nephew-isation”

The BJP has often accused Abhishek of running syndicates that extort money from common people.

How did Trinamool respond?

“All leaders of BJP big or small have one thing to say — bhatija or bhaipho. They cannot take my name and say Abhishek Bandyopadhyay. Neither the Prime Minister nor any BJP leader has the guts to take my name,” said Abhishek in 2021 while addressing a public gathering in Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.

Who is Abhishekh Banerjee?

Abhishek is the son of Amit Banerjee and Lata Banerjee and nephew of TMC leader Mamta Banerjee. He joined All India Trinamool Congress in 2011 and was considered a prominent youth icon as he became national president of All India Trinamool Yuva.

He played key role in the 2018 panchayat polls, but he came to the forefront only during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when BJP merged as the second biggest party in the state and TMC lost a dozen seats.

The TMC MP has already appeared before central probe agencies — the ED and the CBI — multiple times and faced examinations in connection with the alleged multicrore cash-for-school job case.