TMC Rift Erupts: Abhishek Backlash, Bakshi Sparks Divide Over Mamata's Legacy

The ongoing conflict between the old guard and the younger members of the ruling Trinamul Congress took a new turn on Monday when a number of senior party leaders got into an argument about leadership, specifically focusing on Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

On a day when the party's grassroots members were occupied commemorating Trinamul's 27th foundation day, the unrest within the ruling regime came up in the state's political circles.

Many questioned whether the party was split vertically, with some members supporting national general secretary Abhishek and others chairperson Mamata.

In this context, Abhishek spent two hours with Mamata at her Kalighat home on Monday night.

"We don't yet know what was discussed or decided upon during the unexpected meeting between the two top leaders. However, we presume that some conversations about the events, especially the altercation between the two groups that happened all day, must have happened between them, a party leader stated.

The party's state president, Subrata Bakshi, started the unrest in Trinamul on Monday after making a remark about Abhishek's role that embarrassed the party hierarchy.

We have a national general secretary named Abhishek Banerjee. In my view, Abhishek Banerjee will undoubtedly not retreat from the battlefield if he runs in this election. When he fights, Bakshi—a well-known lieutenant of chief minister Mamata since Trinamul's founding—will fight by keeping Mamata Banerjee and the party's emblem front and center.

Due to "ongoing differences of opinion" between Abhishek and his aunt Mamata regarding the party's course of action, many in the party believed Bakshi raised doubts about whether Abhishek would leave the battlefield during the Lok Sabha elections.

According to a source, there were rumors circulating within the party that Abhishek wanted to limit his involvement in politics to campaigning for his Lok Sabha seat of Diamond Harbour. For this reason, Bakshi's remark became significant.

Does this imply that "Abhishek will not retreat" from the combat zone? Why is he going to retreat? As the party's leader, he is a leader. Under Mamata di's direction, Abhishek has emerged as the party's commander and is considered its face. Abhishek has led a number of campaigns in the recent past, such as rural elections and protests in Delhi. Respected state president of our party, Kunal Ghosh, a close Abhishek aide, stated, "I think his sentence structure needs to be reevaluated.

According to a source, Abhishek held a private meeting with five leaders, including Ghosh, where he discussed areas of disagreement.

According to insiders in Trinamul, Abhishek has recently cut ties with the party's organizational matters because he and his aunt, the party's top leader, have differing views. This is because the movement Abhishek led to demand central funds was gradually watered down.

According to party insiders, Abhishek intended to step up the opposition to the BJP in order to obtain central funding for a number of rural development initiatives, such as the 100-day job scheme.

Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, he intended to intensify his campaign against the BJP and deliver a crushing blow to the party with a rally at Brigade Parade Ground in February. According to a party source, "He is not happy with how the agitation he started was handled after Durga Puja."

Additionally, sources claimed that Subrata Bakshi assumed leadership and began corresponding with various district leaders after Abhishek stopped keeping an eye on the party's organizational matters. According to sources, Bakshi even got involved in settling internal disputes in some districts, which was initially the responsibility of Abhishek's office.

However, Abhishek's absence was evident throughout the party's organization in recent times, which is why the topic of disagreements became a talking point.

"It's a fight between the younger generation supporting Abhishek's leadership and the party's elders who want Mamata to lead the organization," the source continued.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a veteran legislator from Trinamul, made a remark that sparked yet another verbal exchange between the two factions within Bengal's ruling administration.

In national politics, Bengal is given top priority due to Mamata Banerjee. On the eve of the party's foundation day celebration on Monday in Calcutta, Bandyopadhyay informed party employees that Bengal will have no place in national politics without Mamata Banerjee.

"He (Bandyopadhyay) witnessed an altercation in Delhi that Abhishek led and its consequences. So why does he claim that without Mamata di, Bengal would not exist? According to news channel ABP Ananda, "some leaders are attempting to demonstrate their blind obedience." Kunal Ghosh said.

The opposition criticized Trinamul for letting its internal squabbling become public.

"The national general secretary of a political party is not backing down from the battlefield, according to the state president of the party. "I doubt that it was a puppet show directed by Amit Shah and Narendra Modi," veteran CPM member Sujan Chakraborty remarked.

Such open divisions are typical within dynastic and regional political parties. People, however, are not interested in such developments (in Trinamul)," chief spokesperson for the Bengal BJP Samik Bhattacharya stated.

It is nothing new that Abhishek and Mamata have different approaches to managing party affairs.

Bengal experienced controversy in February 2022 over the release of candidate lists for 107 municipalities. Partha Chatterjee, the general secretary of Trinamul, released a new version of the candidate lists two hours after Prashant Kishore's iPAC, which was once under Abhishek's direction, published the previous ones.

After a meeting with Mamata and Abhishek, along with other high-ranking party officials, the differences were resolved.

However, some leaders stated that it is more important to publicly discuss disagreements before the important Lok Sabha elections, particularly in light of how it will affect the spirits of the party's local cadres.

"There hasn't been any significant political program in the last few months, and the political activities on the ground have ceased. A senior Trinamul leader in Calcutta stated, "We believe Didi and Abhishek should work together to identify some strategies to activate the party's organization throughout Bengal.

The leader used the ongoing dispute between the party's Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who left the BJP, and Jagaddal MLA Somnath Shyam, which hasn't been able to be resolved despite Bakshi's best efforts over the past week, as an example of the problems caused by this division.

"It continued even after Bakshi da (Subrata Bakshi) asked the two to cease criticizing one another in public. Shyam criticised Singh even on Monday, but he didn't mention him. The party's organisation is suffering from Abhishek's absence, the leader claimed.

The leading pair had earlier in the day wished supporters a happy Trinamul Foundation Day on X.

Mamata's post on her X handle, "No surrender to evil force: in defence of all terror we will continue our lifelong struggles for the common people of our country," set the tone for the party's election campaign.

"Celebrating the 27th Foundation Day of Trinamool Congress!" wrote Abhishek. We are appreciative of the amazing journey and, united, we will continue to serve the country honorably and honestly.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.