The rumblings of discord in the Trinamool Congress are growing louder even as Mamata Banerjee is hogging the limelight nationally by simply being herself – which includes shaking a leg!
She purposefully took aim at the Congress Party licking its wounds after the rout in three key states, refusing to attend an INDIA bloc meeting convened by Mallikarjun Kharge. Importantly, she didn’t budge despite Rahul Gandhi’s telephone call. She merrily stayed put in Kolkata where she danced with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Mahesh Batt, Shatrughan Sinha and Sonakshi Sinha, at the inauguration of a film festival. And, as expected, central minister Giriraj Singh’s Jashn mana rahi hai, thumke laga rahi hai, yeh uchit nahi hai jibe has triggered protests in Kolkata and Delhi by senior women Trinamool MPs and MLAs bringing Mamata back in the national spotlight.
Echoes Of The SP Chaos
Even as Mamata’s bargaining power in the opposition alliance has shot up after the Congress Party’s debacle, the intra-party feud in the Trinamool Congress between the old guard and younger party apparatchiks is not only out in the open but is worsening. The power struggle between veterans loyal to 68-year-old Mamata and those owing allegiance to her nephew, heir-apparent and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee, is somewhat reminiscent of the infighting between the coteries of Mulayam Singh Yadav and his son Akhilesh in Uttar Pradesh, which took a very serious turn in the politically significant state in the run-up to the 2017 elections.
The Samajwadi Party was evicted from power in 2017 and Mulayam Singh Yadav is no more but the infighting carries on. In comparison, the internal conflict in the ruling Trinamool Congress runs deeper and is becoming increasingly bitter and irreconcilable. Some are even spying an Ajit Pawar syndrome at play in West Bengal given the Bharatiya Janata Party’s strategy of engineering splits in dynastic political parties to bring them crashing down.
While this writer doesn’t foresee West Bengal going the Maharashtra way, the widening rift between old-timers and the new generation of leaders does not bode well for Mamata’s Trinamool Congress in the long run. The new-versus-old narrative playing out daily in the print and electronic media fuelled by remarks and retorts, is corroding the party’s standing and credibility ahead of the do-or-die general elections in a few months. The divide has been growing since 2021 with the 36-year-old Abhishek’s rise even as the party was voted to power for a third successive term keeping the BJP at bay.
Shadow Boxing
The face of the Young Turks is journalist-turned-politician Kunal Ghosh who rose to become a Rajya Sabha MP. Known as a diehard Abhisekh loyalist, he is currently the Trinamool Congress spokesperson. Recently, he set the cat among the pigeons by publicly asking why Abhishek’s photograph was not displayed at a party meeting in the Netaji Indoor Stadium which Mamata, no less, addressed.
Choosing his words with infinite care, Kunal said: “It is not about Mamata Banerjee versus Abhishek Banerjee as they are a team. The party needs both of them and their contributions are essential. However, I feel any major Trinamool Congress programme can’t be held without Abhishek Banerjee. As he could not attend the meeting due to his health, his photo should have been put on display. The stage was incomplete without the presence of Abhishek Banerjee or his photograph. He has sacrificed a lot for the party and elevated himself to a position where he cannot be ignored anymore. He is essential for the party.”
Did Mamata have a premonition that Kunal would take up cudgels for Abhishek? Intriguingly, she pointedly told the party meeting held in the Netaji Indoor Stadium – where neither Abhishek nor his photograph was there – that party seniors must be given due importance. Referring to her statement, Kunal said: “Seniors indeed deserve adequate respect. But it doesn’t mean they will continue to occupy posts and juniors will continue to struggle for years. It is for the seniors to decide when they hang up their boots. MPs who are old or not keeping well should consider sitting at the party office and guiding the new generation instead of becoming MPs and MLAs.”
Sougata Roy, the 76 year old Trinamoool MP, staunchly aligned with Mamata, lost no time in taking on Kunal for demanding that Abhishek’s photograph should have been displayed at the party meeting. Returning Kunal’s fire, the party veteran said: “Mamata Banerjee has the last word in the party. Abhishek Banerjee is also our leader and he is popular among the young generation. However, it is not necessary that Abhishek Banerjee’s photograph be there in every Trinamool Party programme. Mamata Banerjee’s photograph was there and that is enough.”
Old Guard Vs Young Turks
Other old timers entrenched in the Mamata camp are Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, Subrata Bakshi, Purnendu Bose, Sudip Banerjee, Kalyan Badopadhyay, and many more key ministers and organisational leaders. Significantly, the three senior-most Trinamool Party heavyweights presently behind bars on corruption charges – Partha Chatterjee, Anubrata Mondal and Jyotipriya Mullick – are Mamata loyalists.
Besides Kunal, prominent pro-Abhishek figures are Transport Minister Snehasis Chakraborty, Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmick, Education Minister Bratya Basu, Planning and Statistics Minister Tapas Roy, MLA Madan Mitra, social media and IT cell chief Devangshu Bhattacharya, Trinamool Youth Congress chief Sayoni Ghosh and Trinamool Chhatra Parishad’s Trinankur Bhattacharya. There are fence-sitters too like Power Minister Aroop Biswas who have their feet in both camps.
The tussle between the old and new guard is all about controlling the functioning of the Trinamool Congress, especially decision-making. A few months ago, Abhishek forced Mamata’s right-hand man, Firhad, to roll back a hike in parking fees charged by Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Abhishek also ensured that Partha, who has close ties with Mamata, was dropped from the cabinet and stripped of party posts within nine days of his arrest.
Even as Mamata was exulting over the Congress Party rout, Abhishek fired another volley demanding a retirement plan for politicians on the grounds that advancing years take a toll of productivity. He said that there is a retirement age in every profession and service and added that cricketers and footballers too hang up their boots. Out of 23 Trinamool Congress MPs, 10 are over 65 – and among them five are more than 75.
Importantly, Mamata had recently ruled out any age limit for contesting assembly or parliamentary elections. But Abhishek is suddenly singing an altogether different tune. His insistence on compulsory retirement for politicians has the potential to unleash demands for fielding younger candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, exerting pressure on many Mamata loyalists and raising the morale of his own group.
SNM Abdi is an independent journalist specialising in India’s foreign policy and domestic politics. Views are personal, and do not represent the stance of this publication.
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