The 'Anti-Bhaipo' Sentiment In Trinamool And Making Of A Mutiny

"One is Rabindra Sangeet, the other is DJ music".

That's how a TMC leader described the difference between Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress in the Bengal Assembly has now split into two factions. MLA Ritabrata Banerjee has formed a separate group with 60 out of 80 MLAs and has declared himself the "real" Trinamool Congress. He has also got the recognition from the Assembly Speaker as Leader of Opposition.

Mamata Banerjee had expelled Ritabrata Banerjee from the Trinamool Congress just three days ago. Even as he claimed to be the "real" Trinamool Congress, Ritabrata maintained that Mamata Banerjee was his leader and that he did not intend to break the party. He also said that Mamata Banerjee should continue to guide him because this fight is against "one individual".

The 'One' Who Spoilt The Party

The biggest question is: who is that person because of whom the Trinamool Congress has split? Everyone in Bengal knows that the person is TMC general secretary, MP, and Mamata Banerjee's nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.

So why did 60 out of 80 TMC MLAs turn against one person? For that, it's important to understand the structure of the Trinamool Congress.

After Mamata Banerjee broke the dominance of the Left in 2011, Abhishek Banerjee entered politics and was made president of the Trinamool Youth Congress. Since 2014, Abhishek has been the MP from Diamond Harbour and is currently the party's general secretary.

Gradually, Abhishek Banerjee's stature in the Trinamool Congress grew by virtue of being Mamata Banerjee's nephew. He was seen as her successor. Mamata Banerjee also started trusting Abhishek more than her older colleagues.

All the founding leaders of the Trinamool Congress were slowly sidelined, and Abhishek's grip on the party kept getting stronger.

I-PAC Or Abhishek's Private Army?

After the 2021 Assembly elections, when political consultant Prashant Kishor quit I-PAC, Abhishek Banerjee retained the consultancy firm. He signed a five-year contract with I-PAC's new management and decided to use their services in Bengal.

Abhishek used I-PAC like his personal army and used its resources to spy on Trinamool Congress leaders from the block level to the Lok Sabha. Abhishek Banerjee's over dependence and trust on I-PAC collapsed the party's organisational structure, according to the party insiders.

Candidates, from panchayats to the Assembly, were no longer selected after consulting local leaders. Everything depended on I-PAC's feedback. I-PAC staff also started taking advantage of this situation. They reportedly told leaders to toe their line or negative reports about them would be given to Abhishek Banerjee.

After the party's success in 2024 Lok Sabha elections, his influence increased further.

The party that Mamata Banerjee had built by fighting on the streets of West Bengal, even risking her life at times, was crumbling from within, and Mamata Banerjee seemingly didn't have a clue.

Corporate Culture In, Personal Touch Out

A senior Trinamool Congress leader told NDTV that Abhishek's aggressive style also rubbed the party leaders the wrong way. He started to run the party like a corporate house, whereas Mamata Banerjee mastered the personal touch. Abhishek Banerjee and I-PAC replaced the TMC's traditional bottom-up mobilisation with top-down control, data-driven strategies, and area domination tactics. Somewhere down the line, Didi's personal touch went missing, and crude stats and hard bargaining took over.

Dominance And Arrogance

When I was in Kolkata for a month during the elections, I attended Abhishek Banerjee's press conferences at Trinamool Bhavan. On many occasions, I tried convincing Abhishek Banerjee for an interview. Even pitched the idea of accompanying him on his campaign on several occasions, but with no success.

"We'll see," was a curt response from the TMC general secretary on every occasion.

I kept chasing his aides, but the interview never materialsed. It's not that Abhishek Banerjee doesn't know me - he's an MP and I've been covering Parliament for years. So, we know each other, but we're not friends.

Anyway, I met several Trinamool Congress leaders in Kolkata, from councillors to MLAs. They said that meeting Didi, i.e., Mamata Banerjee, is easy, but meeting Abhishek is not.

Leaders told me that they were made to wait outside his lavish house for hours only to be told that Abhishek could not meet them. Many said that they waited for hours on the road in front of his house only to leave without a meeting.

Now, when the Trinamool Congress is at its lowest political point, fingers are being pointed in one direction. Towards Abhishek Banerjee. Those who have rebelled are still saying that Didi is their leader, and they want her guidance. But they have also declared that they will not tolerate Abhishek Banerjee.