Mamata Tightens Grip: Trinamul Leaders Ordered to Step Up Protests, Shun Public Squabbles

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday urged West Midnapore-based Trinamul Congress leaders to step up their street protests against the BJP and step up grassroots political activities. She also emphasized the need to cease exposing organizational flaws in public remarks.

In addition to demonstrating her tight control over issues pertaining to Trinamul's organizational operations, Mamata's dual directives during a meeting held behind closed doors at her Kalighat mansion also conveyed her distaste for the leaders' open squabbling.

"If the BJP attempts to portray us as a party of thieves, don't be afraid of them. Leaders of the BJP are the greatest thieves, as you should know. Mamata was cited by a Trinamul leader present at the meeting as stating, "We have to counter their narrative and let the people know what we have done."

"Everyone has to get out and get ready for the Lok Sabha elections. Mamata allegedly remarked, "Forget all differences, stop issuing statements," during the meeting.

In order to address organizational concerns before to the Lok Sabha elections, the chief minister, who also serves as the chairman of Trinamul, had her first organizational meeting with over sixty party officials, including MLAs, MPs, and ministers from West Midnapore.

As part of a bigger strategy to get people ready for the next war, a Trinamul leader said that she would have separate sessions with leaders from other districts.

Mamata made it plain during the two-hour meeting, according to a source in Trinamul, that she would be closely observing the party's operations leading up to the general elections in 2024. He said that the signal was necessary to dispel the muddle that had developed inside the governing party in recent months about the relative importance of the old guard and the younger brigade.

Didi is not pleased with the pointless discussion between the old and the young since it is revealing flaws in the party. She was quite explicit about how unhappy she was with the trend of public discussions and pronouncements from politicians. A leader in attendance at the meeting said, "Didi issued a warning that the party would not allow such conduct and would take strong action against anybody breaching her diktat.

Mamata allegedly briefed the Trinamul leaders on the role of the party's veteran members, who had contributed significantly to Trinamul over the last thirty years, starting in 1998.

"I will simply remove any leader who seems to make public comments on party matters from the party. When one leader finishes speaking, another appears with a counterargument. Mamata was described by a West Midnapore-based Trinamul leader as stating, "I would not tolerate this further."

"She expressed her dissatisfaction with certain spokespersons and implied that a fresh roster of representatives might be compiled shortly," the informant said.

Several sources claim that the new list will have a mix of old guards and youth brigade, in contrast to the current list, which is stacked with leaders of the younger generation who are loyal to Abhishek.

In Bengal's political environment, the struggle between the young and the old guard is not new; throughout the latter part of the Left's power, these discussions were a common occurrence in the CPM. Trinamul's situation is unique in that the party seems to have been split into two groups as a result of the debate: Mamata Banerjee, the party supremo, and Abhishek, her nephew and national general secretary.

According to sources in Trinamul, the party was suffering from the division because Abhishek, who was supposedly leading the group advocating for the youthful brigade, chose to keep quiet and indicated that he would not investigate organizational issues outside of his Lok Sabha seat of Diamond Harbour.

In light of this, rumors circulated over Abhishek's potential attendance at the conference. According to a source, "He did show up for the meeting, but it didn't seem like him."

However, at Mamata's urging, the Diamond Harbour MP made a short statement at the meeting, according to a source. The national general secretary of the party took the platform, recounting his experiences on the Nabo Jowar Yatra, which involved traveling far and wide throughout the state to draw attention to the successes of the Trinamul regime and draw attention to the alleged shortcomings of the central government. He then pledged to follow the party chairperson's instructions.

Mamata gave Abhishek an assignment at the meeting: she wanted him to write a pamphlet about topics such as the Narendra Modi government's refusal to provide Bengal funding, the saffron camp's policies of discrimination against minorities, and the nation's unemployment rate. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, the party intends to hand out the pamphlets to the public.

The task of briefing the media after the meeting fell to Manas Bhuniya, a minister and seasoned politician from the West Midnapore region.

"There are never any conflicts among us. In our party, there is no discussion about what is new or old. He said, "We will fight together," making it obvious that Mamata wanted the rank and file to hear the message of unity.