Barely months before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and amid a hectic power play in the INDIA bloc, the Trinamool Congress has been embroiled in a public infighting between its ‘senior’ and ‘junior’ camps. What makes the optics even worse is that it unfolded on January 1, the party’s 26th foundation day.
The trigger seems to be TMC state president Subrata Bakshi’s sudden statement on party general secretary and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee. “If in this election, Abhishek Banerjee fights, I am confident that he will not go back from his fight. I am sure that he will fight projecting Mamata.”
Among the first to object to the use of the conjunction ‘if’ is general secretary Kunal Ghosh. “Where is the question of Abhishek Banerjee withdrawing himself from the fight? Why did he (Bakshi) say ‘if Abhishek Banerjee fights …’? Our state president should reconsider what he said. This type of statement is absolutely unfortunate. We know Mamata Banerjee is our leader and then second-in-command is Abhishek Banerjee… This type of comment is uncalled for.”
Ghosh went onto question why senior party leaders did not campaign effectively against BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari who managed to “conspire against” and defeat Mamata Banerjee from Nandigram in the 2021 West Bengal elections.
Among other senior leaders whose statements created a stir is Sudip Banerjee. On Monday, the TMC leader said: “If Mamata Banerjee does not stay, then Bengal will be treated like the third child of a goat (a Bengali proverb that translates to losing importance).”
Kunal Ghosh objected to this comment too, asserting that Abhishek Banerjee had organised a “good movement” against the Central for not releasing MGNREGS funds to Bengal.
As the old vs young factionalism emerged in the party, Abhishek Banerjee met Mamata Banerjee at her residence for more than an hour on Monday.
Party sources say the rift can be traced back to Abhishek Banerjee’s MNREGA protest in Delhi. In November, Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee and other MPs met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and raised the issue of non-disbursal of central funds for MNREGA in West Bengal. Since then, a section of party leaders feel Abhishek Banerjee hasn’t been as active anymore.
In a party meeting in November, Mamata Banerjee had stated that both seniors and juniors in the party have to work together. Abhishek Banerjee was virtually present in this meeting. Since then, party insiders say, a rift has been brewing between the old and new guard.
Abhishek Banerjee was also seen as becoming “very active” with Mamata Banerjee’s support when her movement was confined while recovering from a leg injury. It was during this time that Abhishek launched the MGNREGA movement with the CM’s support. Insiders indicated that some of his suggestions for the party did not go down well with the old guard.
A section of the leaders reportedly met Abhishek Banerjee last week, requesting him to resume a more active role, but he is said to have declared that he will focus on his own constituency and will discharge any duty given by Mamata Banerjee.
There may be a few months to go for Lok Sabha elections but the current rift and tensions in the party also threaten the process of candidate selection with Abhishek Banerjee having advocated for a retirement or cut-off age.
Comments
0 comment