Storm Brewing Within Trinamool Congress: Kalyan Banerjee and Madan Mitra Trade Barbs

Baby Chakraborty, KalimNews, November 22, 2024, Kolkata :  As the Trinamool Congress (TMC) gears up for the 2026 elections, a storm appears to be brewing within the party. Tensions between senior leaders have boiled over, spilling out into the public eye and revealing deepening divisions. On Wednesday, Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee took an indirect jab at a fellow leader, triggering a scathing response from Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra. The feud highlights the growing contradictions within the party at a crucial time.

While Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are focused on reshuffling the party structure in preparation for the upcoming elections, a significant rift between key figures seems to have intensified. In a sharp statement, Kalyan Banerjee, without naming anyone directly, criticized certain leaders within the party, saying, "I do not want to come face to face with those accused in the Saradha and Narada cases, those who have been jailed and who have lost their votes."

Though Kalyan did not mention Madan Mitra by name, the implication was clear. Mitra, who was arrested in connection with the Saradha scam, has been a controversial figure within the TMC. Responding to Kalyan's remarks the following day, Mitra did not hold back, calling Kalyan a "chhotlok" (a derogatory term meaning 'low class' or 'common person') in a direct media interview.

In a highly charged retort, Mitra said, "My parents taught me not to quarrel with elders, and not to mess with the younger ones. I don’t want to mess with Kalyan." He further added, "A dog has done a dog’s job, biting my leg. Should I bark and bite him? Not responding is the best response."

The roots of this public spat trace back to a few days ago when Kalyan Banerjee raised questions about Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) President Trinankur Bhattacharya’s involvement in the controversial RG tax incident. Kalyan had publicly asked, "When this RG tax incident happened, where was the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad President? I don’t know whose hand is in their heads!"

Madan Mitra, who was standing next to Trinankur at the time, immediately shot back, saying, "Who is Kalyan to question what he is doing or not?" This exchange of words quickly escalated into the current feud.

Despite initially claiming that he would not respond to Kalyan’s remarks, Mitra did not hold back in his latest interview. "Kalyan once contested elections in Asansol. He behaved so badly that he was never fielded there again. Serampur is a winnable seat, yet Kalyan, who lost the election, was fielded there. If Mamata Banerjee’s hand wasn’t on his head, he would have been reduced to doing the work of a court clerk," Mitra asserted.

The exchange between the two leaders took a personal turn when Kalyan called Madan Mitra a "jailer," a reference to Mitra’s imprisonment in the wake of the Saradha scam investigation. In his retort, Mitra proudly declared, "I went to jail wearing the TMC jersey and raised the Trinamool Congress flag. Even after keeping me in jail, they could not frame any charges against me. The only accusation was that I was ‘too influential.’"

Mitra further explained, "I had to live with the stigma of being powerful and influential. Every day, 20,000 to 30,000 people came to visit me in jail. I contested the election after coming out, and I won by a massive margin."

When asked about their relationship within the party, Madan Mitra responded bluntly, "There is no reason to talk to him. There is no reason to talk. He is a Brahmin, I am a Kayastha. He lives on the right side of Mamata’s house, I live on the left. Who has so much time? It's better to focus on serving the people than to waste time talking to him."

This deeply personal and political rift highlights the growing fractures within the Trinamool Congress as the party prepares for the crucial 2026 elections. While Mamata Banerjee continues to play the role of a unifying leader, tensions among her senior colleagues are beginning to surface, creating an atmosphere of division at a time when party solidarity is more important than ever.

The public nature of this dispute could have significant implications for the TMC's image, especially as it heads into a critical election cycle. Whether the party leadership can mend these rifts or whether the cracks will widen further remains to be seen in the coming weeks.