Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Diamond Harbour MP, has emerged to be one of the main problem of rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders who are distancing themselves from the party one after another in the biggest identity crisis for the outfit that was in power in the state for three straight terms.
Mamata Banerjee, TMC founder, has been abandoned by almost the entire elected section of her own party, with corruption and Abhishek Banerjee being cited as the reason for rebellion by most of the rebel MLAs as well as MPs. Track TMC crisis June 11 news here
Adding to back-to-back setbacks, Mamata Banerjee lost a third Rajya Sabha MP — Prakash Chik Baraik — this week with him resigning on Thursday. On Wednesday, Sushmita Dev announced her resignation as Rajya Sabha MP and exit from the TMC. Dev’s exit came two days after TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Rajya Sabha, alleging “unbridled corruption” and “anarchical rule” of the party. Follow TMC crisis June 11 updates here
The resignations of Dev and Ray come as the latest blow after an unsteady week for Mamata Banerjee, with TMC suffering a split in Bengal assembly – with 58 lawmakers backing rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee, who staked claim to the Leader of the Opposition position – and also showing signs of cracks in Parliament with MP Kakoli Ghosh this Monday offering support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), claiming she has backing of 19 other MPs — the number require to evade anti-defection law.
Amid the turmoil, Mamata Banerjee met senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday, a meeting after which speculation of TMC’s “merger” with the Grand Old Party floated.
Why is Abhishek Banerjee rebels’ main problem?
Amid the exodus of key leaders, a major blow, possibly the biggest, brewed for Mamata Banerjee on Thursday as one of her closest aide – Kalyan Banerjee – asked her to choose between him and her nephew, Abhishek.
Not just Kalyan Banerjee, Ritabrata Banerjee also led the rebellion of MLAs last week urging Mamata Banerjee to be the their chief advisor, saying that Abhishek Banerjee has no connection with state assembly.
Abhishek’s pre-eminence in the party, and his alleged preference for strategy firm I-PAC over party cadres, has been cited by the rebels among their reasons for breaking ranks to claim “the real TMC”.
‘Arrogant’, ‘sideliner’
Rebels within the TMC oppose Abhishek Banerjee accusing him of having a centralised, “arrogant” leadership style, causing systemic alienation of the party’s old guard, and the excessive reliance on political consultants like I-PAC for candidate selection and internal decisions.
Kalyan Banerjee, a lawyer by profession, said he will not appear for Abhishek Banerjee in any case because he does not like his “arrogant attitude”.
“I have spent 45 years in this profession; all these people have worked with me as juniors. How can he humiliate me? I am senior to him in politics as well. He cannot do this. He needs to understand that it is because of him that we lost. He also needs to understand that the party is facing this crisis because of him. I cannot tolerate disrespect. I will urge Didi: if you will remain dependent on Abhishek Banerjee, then stick with him-leave me. But if you part ways with Abhishek Banerjee, then I am with you. He has destroyed our party,” Banerjee said, speaking to media persons.
Senior leaders and legislators feel ignored and excluded from crucial decision-making processes. Abhishek Banerjee’s direct appointments and control over the legislative have been seen as marginalising veteran politicians who once held more sway.
Soon after resigning from his post as a Rajya Sabha MP and giving up primary membership of the TMC, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray on Monday criticised the party over the RG Kar Hospital murder-rape case, asserting that the state leadership had become disconnected from ground realities.
“Power had gone to their heads to such an extent that they believed no one in the world could touch them,” ANI quoted as saying Ray as he spoke to reporters after resigning from his post,
He alleged that ministers, panchayat leaders, councillors, and mayors, who had held power for the past fifteen years, were inaccessible, while grassroots party workers were sidelined.
“Our party workers who strengthened the organisation with their blood and sweat, those who fought against the Left Front for years, were sidelined. Instead, middlemen, thieves, dacoits, and rapists came to the forefront. All of this is now coming to light and being shown on television. Who owns the biggest house in the village? The panchayat leader. It has a swimming pool, exotic birds, and so on… Crores of rupees were looted. That is why I am making a demand now,” he said.
Many within the party openly criticise the influence of political consultancies, I PAC in particular, in deciding election tickets. High-profile controversies, such as candidates withdrawing without consultation and the leadership’s defensive responses, sparked further anger.
While the old guard maintains deep respect and loyalty for Mamata Banerjee, they view Abhishek Banerjee’s rise as her political heir with suspicion.
The internal tensions hit a boiling point last week when rebel lawmakers alleged that their signatures were forged on legislative documents communicated directly to the assembly speaker. This was what basically led to the rebellion by Ritabrata Chakraborty.
On June 3, West Bengal assembly speaker Rathindra Nath Bose recognised 58 rebel TMC legislators as the principal opposition group in the 294-member House.
On June 1, Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha were expelled from the TMC after chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said their written complaint had led to a CID probe into allegations of signature forgery against Abhishek Banerjee.
The two legislators alleged that signatures of several TMC MLAs were forged on a May 19 resolution nominating Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the assembly’s leader of opposition (LoP). The speaker subsequently sought a police investigation into the matter. Abhishek Banerjee is a key suspect because he forwarded the resolution to the speaker.
For years, Abhishek Banerjee has been widely seen as Mamata Banerjee’s political heir and drawn criticism of being a product of “nepotism”. As his influence grew, so did concerns among sections of the old guard who felt increasingly sidelined.
