With her nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s ‘Diamond Harbor Model’ of covid-19 management creating fissures between the old and young of the party, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has moved to set her house in order, party sources said.
Addressing a meeting with her party MPs on Thursday, ahead of the upcoming Budget Session in Parliament, the TMC chief made it clear that she will keep the reins of the administration and the party with herself.
Sources privy to the meeting said that Banerjee told her MPs that if they have any statement to make, they should inform Sudip Bandyopadhyay, the leader of the Trinamool’s parliamentary party, before going public with it.
Also, if an MLA has something to say, he should approach the party’s secretary general Partha Chatterjee or state president Subrata Bakshi, she said at the meeting. If there’s any issue surrounding the upcoming municipal polls, Chatterjee and Bakshi should be informed first, the Trinamool chief added.
According to some observers, the recent remarks by Trinamool Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee over the “Diamond Harbor Model” of Abhishek has not only raised leadership questions in the ruling camp but has also exposed differences within. Some said while differences were already there, Kalyan made them public, saying he wouldn’t be led by anyone other than Mamata.
“Didi made it clear during the meeting that it is because of such underlying tensions that she has decided to take care of organizational matters in Bengal. She also said that if Kalyan Banerjee, Madan Mitra or Aparupa Poddar has anything to say about the party’s internal affairs, they shouldn’t go public with their opinions. If there’s anything to be said about party matters, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Subrata Bakshi should be informed first, Didi said. She added that it has done a lot of hard work to build the Trinamool and anything that leaves the party red-faced should be said,” a TMC leader said.
Abhishek, who was in poll-bound Goa to campaign, returned to Kolkata on the day of his aunt’s meeting with party MPs. According to sources, before leaving for Mamata’s Kalighat residence where the meeting was held, he informed a Trinamool leader that he was trying to reach well before the meeting. However, he joined virtually after the meeting began.
After the meeting, Abhishek left for his sister’s residence on Harish Mukherjee Road.
On “differences” in the party, a senior Trinamool MP said, “Tension within the party is not unusual. In fact, they are normal for a (leadership) team as big as ours. Differences are more or less the same in all parties, even the regimented ones.”
“Through the years, many senior leaders across parties have suffered insecurity. They fear losing their pre-eminence in the party. There is intolerance among newcomers as well. It is wise to strike a balance between the young and old. Didi has asked us to maintain that balance.”
Sources said many senior TMC leaders groomed by Mamata herself are not comfortable being led by Abhishek. The same has resulted in a rift within the party.
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