Mamata for outreach but to party ranks -CM ‘ignores’ Suvendu steps, focuses on meetings

Mamata Banerjee : File picture

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |    28.11.20  :  Mamata Banerjee on Friday decided to address Trinamul Congress workers virtually on December 4 and start visiting various districts from December 7 as the chief minister purportedly chose not to attach much importance to Suvendu Adhikari’s moves.

The decision was taken at a meeting Mamata had with some of her most trusted lieutenants at her residence here. Trinamul Congress state president Subrata Bakshi, the party’s secretary general Partha Chatterjee, general-secretaries Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas, and youth wing chief and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee were present at the meeting .

“It is a question of intent now. Either she (Mamata) has to yield to Suvendu’s conditions to keep him — which will be a very bitter pill to swallow — or let him go, which could mean a major impact in the Assembly polls,” said a Trinamul Rajya Sabha member.

“She could sort this out in a span of hours, but whichever option she picks will have a far-reaching impact on the party and its future, going into the make-or-break elections…. It seems very unlikely that she will upend the major structures for the sake of keeping him. He cannot be allowed to become bigger than the party,” he added.

Trinamul vice-president Saugata Roy, who had been deputed by the leadership to pacify Adhikari,  was still optimistic. “I still think there is scope for optimism. He is still in the party. He has some concerns, which have been communicated to the chief minister. We were to meet again, which is still on the cards. So, I am unwilling to believe that this is over,” said Roy.

Adhikari, a former two-term MP, has been one of the tallest leaders of the ruling party and is part of its seven-member apex steering committee as a general-secretary.

He had played a pivotal role in the anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram, one of the two issues that propelled Mamata to power in 2011. His father Sisir Adhikari is the Contai MP and the East Midnapore Trinamul chief, besides being a vice-president of the party. One of his brothers Dibyendu Adhikari is the Tamluk MP, and another brother Soumyendu Adhikari is Contai’s civic chairman.

The Adhikari family says it can influence verdict in close to 60 Assembly seats whereas the official camp says the sway is limited to 20-25 constituencies.

Sources in the ruling party said the immediate trigger for the slew of resignations from Adhikari was the apparent endorsement of Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee by Trinamul’s “supreme” leadership. MP Banerjee, with whom Adhikari has had testy ties, has been issuing statements in public attacking him and his family personally, sometimes in language deemed “unparliamentary”.

“Suvendu had hoped Kalyan would be reprimanded, or at least cautioned,” said a senior Trinamul MP.

Instead, he pointed out, it was seen that the Serampore MP was taken along by the chief minister for the Bankura tour, given prominence on the dais at the events, and asked to hold a key news conference from the party headquarters on Thursday against the governor.

“Besides, she (Mamata) herself issued a very stern statement, apparently against Suvendu, on Wednesday…. Seeing all that, Suvendu resigned from the HRBC on Thursday evening,” he said.

“But instead of any placatory gesture, Kalyan was immediately named as his successor to the post. That made matters worse. It prompted the chain of events today (Friday). Kalyan kept daring Suvendu to quit all posts before making rebellious statements. That is what he did.”