Disagreement between a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders over the growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee, nephew and heir apparent of Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with organizational changes made by the advice of election strategist Prashant Kishor is helping the Party Bharatiya Janata (BJP)), feel the leaders of the opposition party.
Some leaders of the ruling party also share this view.
Abhishek Banerjee has become the focal point of the BJP’s attack on the TMC in recent weeks after various leaders, from former heavyweight minister Suvendu Adhikari to senior lawmaker Mihir Goswami, rebelled over the decisions made by him and Kishor. . The secret at the TMC is that Banerjee and Kishor work closely with each other and many instructions are often relayed to district leaders by executives from I-Pac, Kishor’s company, and not by high-level leaders.
Speaking to HT on condition of anonymity, a senior member of TMC’s state committee said that in an important virtual meeting with district and state leaders Mamata Banerjee on Friday afternoon he gave clear instructions that those who spoke out against the party they should be removed from their posts.
“The prime minister said this while addressing Sisir Adhikari, Suvendu Adhikari’s father. He also said that those who fear facing the BJP in the next election can leave the TMC. She said she won’t hold a grudge against them. Significantly, he also emphatically mentioned that there is no need to panic as the next generation of leaders is ready. There was a clear message in this, ”said the TMC leader.
Sisir Adhikari is a member of Kanthi’s Lok Sabha and chairman of the East Midnapore district unit of the party. Mamata Banerjee will address a gigantic rally in Midnapore on December 7. Suvendu Adhikari, who has told leaders that he cannot work with TMC, will announce his next move on December 6. There is speculation that he could resign from TMC.
“Many TMC leaders joined the BJP in recent years. But high-level people like Mukul Roy and former Kolkata Mayor Sovon Chatterjee left us because of their differences with Abhishek Banerjee. Suvendu has the same problem, ”said a senior TMC leader who did not want to be named.
The BJP’s attacks on Abhishek Banerjee are not limited to calling him a bhaipo (nephew) or khokababu (boy) in public. The saffron field also wants to corner it politically. BJP National President JP Nadda will hold an organizational meeting with BJP leaders from South 24 Parganas during a visit on December 8. The meeting will be held in Diamond Harbor, Abhishek Banerjee’s Lok Sabha constituency. Nadda will hold a second meeting in Kolkata on December 9.
“What is happening at the TMC is a reflection of what the Indian National Congress is going through. The Gandhi family is desperate to make Rahul Gandhi the head of the party, although it lacks mission and vision. In Bengal, Abhishek Banerjee, who never led any mass movement or contributed to the growth of the TMC in its formative years, has become the second face of the party, ”said Jay Prakash Majumdar, vice president of the BJP’s Bengal unit.
“In the districts, people worked for years to build the TMC organization because they were inspired by Mamata Banerjee’s struggle as leader of the opposition. Many of these leaders are now being replaced by young men who owe their allegiance to Abhishek. The prime minister cannot force her old and sincere leaders to like and follow Abhishek. Only opportunists will do that. The BJP is reaping the fruits of the TMC’s corruption and government failures. Abhishek is an added bonus, ”Majumdar added.
While Mihir Goswami, the legislator from the Cooch Behar South assembly seat in North Bengal, joined the BJP on November 27, Suvendu Adhikari, who ran three major departments, resigned from the cabinet on the same day.
A third lawmaker, Silbhadra Dutta of the Barrackpore headquarters in North 24 Parganas, has stated that she will not contest the assembly elections. “I don’t think political decisions can be made by a contracted commercial agency. The agency can’t lecture me on politics. I feel obsolete in the current situation, ”Dutta had said on November 1, referring to I-Pac.
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