Kolkata:

Amidst the ongoing internal struggle within the TMC between veteran leaders and the younger faction, West Bengal Chief Minister and party chief Mamata Banerjee on Friday said any decision regarding her successor would be made collectively by the party leadership rather than by her personally.

In an exclusive interview with a Bengali news channel News 18 Bangla, Ms Banerjee dismissed notions of individual dominance, asserting, “I am not the party; we are the party. It is a collective family, and decisions will be made collectively.”

Asked about her potential successor, Ms Banerjee deflected the question with a counter-query, “Who is your successor?” She went on to clarify that TMC is a disciplined party where no individual will dictate terms. “The party will decide what is best for the people. We have MLAs, MPs, booth workers, this is a joint effort,” she said.

On the ongoing debate about prioritising the younger generation or experienced leaders, Ms Banerjee maintained a balanced approach, stating, “Everyone is important. Today’s newcomer will be tomorrow’s veteran.”

While TMC has not officially declared any succession plans, Ms Banerjee’s remark comes amidst an ongoing debate over the old guards, considered loyal to Mamata Banerjee, versus the next-generation leaders, considered close to Abhishek Banerjee.

Abhishek Banerjee is TMC’s national general secretary and nephew of Mamata Banerjee.

Ms Banerjee did not mince words when addressing the role of political consultants, taking an indirect jibe at I-PAC, which has been working as TMC’s political consultant since 2019.

“Some strategists make surveys sitting at home and change them later. They can arrange things but not bring voters. It’s the booth workers who know the villages and people who actually win elections,” she remarked, adding, “They are like artisans who do their work in exchange for money. But elections aren’t won by them.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday formed several disciplinary committees at different levels, consisting of veteran loyalists, and gave additional responsibilities to national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee as the spokesperson for national affairs, underscoring the party’s reliance on seasoned members to shape its strategic direction.

In a significant move, the party also elevated five veteran leaders including assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, state minister Manas Bhunia and party MP Kalyan Banerjee, to the party’s all-powerful working committee.

Notably, party MP and Ms Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek, considered the party’s de facto number two and who has been a key figure in the party’s growth, will also serve as the official spokesperson for national affairs.

His appointment highlights the party’s focus on enhancing its national presence and making him the face of the party at the national level.

Speaking to the media after the national executive committee meeting, senior party leader and state minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said that to ensure better discipline and effective leadership, the party has constituted three disciplinary committees at different levels.

The Parliamentary Disciplinary Committee includes Sudip Bandopadhyay, Derek O’Brien, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Kalyan Banerjee, and Nadimul Haque.

The State Assembly Disciplinary Committee comprises Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, Nirmal Ghosh, Aroop Biswas, Debashish Kumar, and Firhad Hakim.

At the state level, the committee consists of Subrata Bakshi, Aroop Biswas, Sujit Bose, Firhad Hakim, and Chandrima Bhattacharya.

“If someone is issued a show-cause notice by any of these committees, he or she has to answer it. If a person gets three such show-cause notices, steps will be taken to suspend him or her,” Bhattacharya said.

According to party sources, this strategic reshuffle is seen as a move to bring experienced leaders to the forefront, reflecting the party’s recognition of their contributions over the years.

“The new appointments underline the party’s commitment to bringing long-serving members into leadership roles. The prominence of veteran leaders such as Kalyan Banerjee and Manas Bhunia reflects TMC’s effort to retain a balance between experience and youth in its leadership. Additionally, Abhishek Banerjee’s expanded role as the national spokesperson will help the party navigate the complex political landscape at the national level, as it aims to grow its influence across India,” a senior TMC leader said.

The TMC has strengthened regional representation by making strategic appointments to amplify local voices.

Gautam Deb, Udayan Guha, and Prakash Chik Baraik have been tasked with addressing issues in northern West Bengal.

Malay Ghatak will focus on matters related to tea garden workers, while Birbaha Hansda will handle concerns specific to the tribal region of Jhargram.

Senior TMC leader and state minister Aroop Biswas has been appointed as the coordinator for party spokespersons.

The TMC announced a series of initiatives to strengthen its grassroots network and deepen its connection with the public.

A new campaign will be launched to educate people about the party’s history and its contributions to the state’s political landscape, with party workers actively spreading this message across districts.

“There are several youths who are not aware of the party’s history and struggle. So, we have decided to take up an initiative to teach the people about the party’s history and its contributions,” she said.

The party has also decided to launch a campaign christened ‘With the People, For the People’, aimed at building stronger engagement with the masses.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

When Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India in 1905, announced the partition of Bengal on religious lines, the decision was met with stiff resistance from a section of people. Bengalis, mainly from the Hindu-dominated western part of the province, alleged that the step was part of the British colonial policy of divide and rule. Among the intellectuals who actively led the protests against the bifurcation was Rabindranath Tagore.

The celebrated bard, in an ode to Mother Bengal, composed a song in support of the resistance against the partition of the state: “Banglar mati, Banglar jol, Banglar baayu, banglar phal, Punyo houk punyo houk, punyo houk hey bhagoban”. Loosely translated, it says this: “The soil of Bengal, the water of Bengal, the air of Bengal, the fruit of Bengal, blessed be them, blessed be them, blessed be them, Oh Lord”. As per historical records, he also initiated a “Raksha Bandhan Utsav” to unite Hindus and Muslims against the division. 

The Raj claimed that the partition was intended to improve administration, with Calcutta being the capital for the western part and Dacca for the east. However, the protesters dubbed it as a ploy to drive a religious wedge among Bengalis. Ultimately, towards the end of 1911, King George V annulled the partition and declared the reunification of the eastern part with the then Bengal Presidency.

Why Few Are Buying The Idea

It’s against this background that the votaries of the “divide Bengal” theory today find themselves facing strong opposition from the people of Bengal, where linguistic and cultural bonds are held above religious beliefs. In fact, the 2024 mandate proved that the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has managed to successfully navigate the issue of “outsiders” beyond religious lines. Nonetheless, another division, which led to the formation of East Pakistan amidst widespread bloodshed, went against political prudence. 

The northern parts of Bengal and the western areas lying along the borders of Jharkhand and Odisha have seven Lok Sabha and 49 assembly segments each. Any decision to bifurcate or trifurcate the state may affect the TMC electorally in the remaining 28 Lok Sabha and 196 assembly constituencies spread across the rest of the state.

Sporadic voices for a bifurcation, or trifurcation, have been raised by individuals who find that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has done well with voters in the north and southwestern parts of the state. Around half of the dozen seats the BJP has won in Bengal this year are from the north and four from the southwest.

Incidentally, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) too has been working with tribals and other inhabitants of Jangalmahal (the forested areas in the southwestern region of the state) for over two decades, and their work bore fruit for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. However, subsequent internal events – including infighting among some state leaders and their followers – have stagnated its growth. Yet, the party enjoys the status of being the largest opposition in the state.

Two Movements

In north Bengal, separatist movements like the Gorkhaland agitation in the Darjeeling hills and the Kamatapur movement by Koch Rajbongshis of Cooch Behar, have been going on for decades. The Koch Rajbongshis movement – which has always aimed to pressurise the ruling governments in the state – has found the BJP being sympathetic towards it. The party’s leadership has not officially accepted its demands, though a few MPs from north Bengal have expressed open support. 

Undoubtedly, the BJP has enjoyed support in these areas of the state; the party has been winning Darjeeling since the 2009 national election. It also won the Cooch Behar seat for the first time in 2019, though it lost it later, apparently due to the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rules ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The Rajbongshis claim that the rules will allow people who migrated from across the border to continue living on their ancestral land.

The disquiet was again evident when Nagendra Ray, a BJP representative in the Rajya Sabha and staunch advocate of a separate state, reiterated on July 25 the demand for a Greater Cooch Behar state. Ray goes by the name of ‘Ananta Maharaj’ and claims that he is a direct descendent of the erstwhile rulers of the earlier Cooch Behar state. In the Rajya Sabha, he claimed that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had assured him that he would look into the demand for a separate state and that the Prime Minister too had instructed the Home Ministry regarding that.

Not An Easy Route

But as was the case with Gorkhaland, a separate state for the Koch Rajbongshi community would entail carving out portions of not only Bengal but adjoining states as well. Such an attempt may not sit well with the adjoining northeastern neighbours, where the BJP has been doing well with support from its North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) partners.

Considering the history, a further division of Bengal is thus an idea that may never come to fruition even if it continues to loom over the state. In any case, Mamata Banerjee will try to gain as much political mileage out of the issue as she can ahead of the 2026 assembly election. 

(Jayanta Bhattacharya is a senior journalist writing on polls and politics, conflict, farmer and human interest issues)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

Kolkata:

The political battleground of West Bengal looks all set for yet another high-octane face-off. Elections will be held in seven phases between April 19 and June 1.

The following are the 12 key parliamentary seats of the state to watch out for.

Kolkata Dakshin: Considered a prestige seat for the TMC for the legacy that party supremo Mamata Banerjee holds, the cosmopolitan seat of South Kolkata continues to remain a Trinamool bastion with all seven Assembly seats in the party kitty. Mamata Banerjee remained an unbroken six-term MP from this seat from 1991 to 2011, till she snatched state power from the Left Front.

Previous attempts by the BJP to dent Mamata Banerjee’s popularity in the region came to a naught even after the TMC chief quit contesting the parliamentary polls. While TMC has repeated candidate Mala Roy, the sitting MP from the seat, the BJP is yet to name her challenger.

Kolkata Uttar: Sudip Bandyopadhyay, TMC’s parliamentary party leader in the Lok Sabha, is the sitting MP of this urban constituency of North Kolkata and has been re-nominated by the party. Sudip Bandyopadhyay won the previous polls by over 1.27 lakh votes, defeating his closest BJP rival.

The BJP is yet to announce its contestant from the seat. Sudip Bandyopadhyay’s candidature, though, was mired in controversy with a section of TMC leaders like Tapas Roy (who has now defected to the BJP) and Kunal Ghosh voicing their opposition to him.

Diamond Harbour: TMC’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is a two-term MP from the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha segment and is a repeat candidate from the seat this time. In 2019, he won the seat by a margin of over three lakh votes, bagging over 56 per cent vote share.

Besides the BJP, the candidates of the Left-Congress alliance and the Indian Secular Front are also likely to remain in the poll fray.

Dum Dum: A predominantly industrial belt in the northern fringes of Kolkata, Dum Dum is yet another TMC fortress it has dominated for the past 15 years. TMC has fielded sitting MP and veteran leader Saugata Roy from Dum Dum for his fourth consecutive term. In 2019, Roy defeated Samik Bhattacharya of BJP by over 53,000 votes. The seat was home to many industries.

Jadavpur: The Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency has a mix of urban and rural population with parts of it located in the southern suburbs of Kolkata and the rest in the rural belts of adjacent South 24 Parganas district. The TMC won the seat in 2019 by nearly three lakh votes over its BJP rival and currently holds six of the seven assembly segments. Bhangar, which was won by the opposition party ISF, is likely to receive considerable attention since it remained one of the hotspots of violence during the 2023 panchayat polls.

Bongaon: A Scheduled Caste-reserved seat, the Bongaon constituency has consistently hogged media headlines for its demography which has a dominant population of Matuas, a migrant Bengali-speaking Namasudra Hindu sect who suffered religious persecution in neighbouring Bangladesh, and the impact of the implementation of the CAA in the region. The Act has remained a long-standing demand of a significant section of Matuas. Union minister Shantanu Thakur, a prominent Matua leader, is a sitting MP from Bongaon which he won in 2019 by a margin of over one lakh votes. He will be up against TMC’s Biswajit Das, a former BJP leader.

Krishnangar: Expelled TMC MP Mahua Moitra won the Krishnanagar seat, yet another region comprising a significant population of Matuas, in 2019 by more than 63,000 votes garnering 45 per cent of the total votes polled. Mahua Moitra, considered to be among the most vocal of TMC parliamentarians, was expelled last year in cash for a query case following a Lok Sabha ethics committee recommendation to that effect.

Jhargram: This ST-reserved central Bengal constituency forms a significant part of the tribal belt of the state and encapsulates the state’s forest-covered territory, loosely called Jangalmahal. Once a bastion of the erstwhile Left Front government, the red brigade was dislodged by the Trinamool Congress in 2014 in the aftermath of violent Maoist activities in the area from 2008 to 2011. That triumph of TMC proved to be short-lived after the BJP snatched the seat away in 2019.

While the TMC hopes for a reversal of fortunes this time around by fielding Santhali playwright Kalipada Soren, a Padmashri and Sahitya Academy awardee, BJP is yet to name its candidate after sitting MP Kunar Hembram quit the party earlier this month citing “personal reasons”.

Balurghat: President of BJP’s Bengal unit and sitting MP Sukanta Majumdar is contesting from this North Bengal seat for the second time in a row. Majumdar would take on TMC’s Biplab Mitra, a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet in Bengal.

Bankura: BJP’s Subhas Sarkar, a junior Union minister, is seeking reelection from Bankura, while the TMC has fielded Arup Chakraborty, its MLA from Taldangra, one of the assembly segments within this Lok Sabha seat. A three-cornered fight is in the offing with the CPI(M) putting up Nilanjan Dasgupta from the seat. The constituency has a considerable tribal population and parts of it fall under Jangalmahal, the erstwhile Maoist stronghold.

Medinipur: The Medinipur constituency used to be a CPI bastion till 2014 and was wrested by BJP’s Dilip Ghosh in 2019 from the TMC, which had won the seat for the first time in 2014. The TMC has fielded actor-turned-politician June Maliah, its MLA from Medinipur segment, for the constituency. The party managed to regain a lot of ground in the 2021 assembly polls, having won in six of the seven segments in this constituency.

Baharampur: The Baharampur Lok Sabha constituency in Murshidabad district of central Bengal is known to be the stronghold of Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who won the seat on five previous occasions on the trot. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kolkata:

The Trinamool launched a fresh “outsider” attack on the BJP in a new campaign ahead of the national elections and accused their leaders of resorting to “catcall” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool’s number 2, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and dubbed the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a ‘Bengalis vs outsiders’ contest.

“Earlier, thieves used to go to jail, now they go to BJP, this is Modi’s guarantee. On the other side is a woman, she still lives in a tin roof house and wears a hawai sandal. Who does Bengal want? Modi or Didi? Bengal’s son of the soil or outsiders?” he told a massive rally in Kolkata.

Ms Banerjee is fondly referred to as Didi by her supporters as well as in the political circles.

The Trinamool has often targeted the BJP as an “anti-Bengal” party, especially after it expanded its base in West Bengal after the 2019 elections.

The BJP had bagged 18 out of 42 seats in Bengal in the previous Lok Sabha polls, the highest it ever won in the eastern state. In the 2021 assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the main opposition party with 77 seats, sidelining the CPM and the Congress.

The Trinamool today launched the ‘Jonogoner Gorjon Bangla Birodhider Bisorjon‘ campaign, which translates to ‘people demand the ouster of anti-Bengal forces’ and highlights what the party believes are “anti-Bengal traits” of the BJP.

“They consistently demonstrated anti-Bengal attitude, deprived the people of Bengal of the basic necessities of roti, kapda, makaan, and misused power to suppress Bengal’s voice,” they said in an online post.

The party accused the BJP-led government at the centre of conspiring against Bengal and that “Bangla Birodhi (anti-Bengal) traits are exhibited in each and every action of BJP.”

“These past 10 years are witness to a consistent attempt by these overlords from outside Bengal, to malign the image of the state and its people through manufactured and often violent conspiracies,” said the Trinamool.

It said Ms Banerjee continues to fight unfazed despite “catcalls” by BJP leaders and the people are determined to defeat them. “BJP leaders incessantly mock, insult and catcall Mamata Banerjee, the only female Chief Minister of the country. She, however, continues to fight unfazed for the people,” the party said.

Kolkata:

Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party for fielding Bhojpuri Singer Pawan Singh from Asansol seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is anti-Bengali, adding that the BJP is giving tickets to those “who speak ill of women”, however, BJP in its reply said that TMC leaders must visit Sandeshkhali before making such remarks.

Pawan Singh announced earlier today that he won’t be contesting from the Asansol seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

In this regard, TMC MP Derek O’Brien said, “He came here, lectured on ‘Nari Shakti’ and then gave a ticket to someone who has vilified Bengali women. That’s the ‘Modi ki guarantee’. If you speak ill of Bengal, if you speak ill of women, we’ll give you a ticket.”

Responding to the remarks, BJP leader Ajay Alok said, “Derek O’Brien should go to Sandeshkhali and see the atrocities against women then he will release who is anti-Bengali.”

Earlier in the day, Pawan Singh announced that he would not be contesting from the Asansol Lok Sabha seat, however, he did not mention any specific reason for this move.

“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from Asansol but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol,” Pawan Singh posted on X.

In this regard, TMC leader Shatrughan Sinha, who also represents Asansol in the Lok Sabha, refrained from commenting and said that this is BJP’s internal matter.

“The decision to contest or not to contest is the party’s internal matter. I am not one to comment on this,” he said.

The BJP has drawn sharp criticism from the TMC after it decided to field Pawan Singh from Asansol.

TMC leader Babul Supriyo said that he has nothing against the Bhojpuri artist but his videos have multiple times insulted Bengali women.

“I have nothing against him or as an artist. But in the videos and movies, particularly of a person, Bengali women are targeted, how can the BJP field such a person from Asansol. It is clear that he was asked to tweet this deliberately. It is impossible for the BJP to release its first list without talking to the candidates,” he said.

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday said that on one hand, the BJP is raising the issue of the Sandeshkali incident, and on the other hand, it is fielding singers like Pawan Singh to fight polls.

Pawan Khera also questioned whether Prime Minister Modi was aware of Pawan Singh’s image.

“This is an interesting case. All the agencies are under the control of the PM. Wasn’t he aware of Pawan Singh’s image? Now he gets to know that after 24 hours. This depicts what kind of government there is in the country. All the agencies are there to keep an eye on the opposition. It is obvious now that people like Harsh Vardhan are taking retirement because this is the era of Pawan Singh,” Khera said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jalpaiguri, West Bengal:

The ruling Trinamool Congress wrested the Dhupguri assembly seat in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district on Friday from the BJP in a by-election, an Election Commission official said.

TMC candidate Nirmal Chandra Roy, a college professor, won the seat by 4,309 votes. He bagged 97,613 votes, while his nearest rival, BJP’s Tapasi Roy, widow of a CRPF jawan killed in a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021, got 93,304 votes, he said.

CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy, who was backed by the Congress, was at a distant third spot with 13,758, he added.

Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee described the win as the victory of the common people and congratulated the people of Dhupguri.

She congratulated candidates for defeating the BJP in the by-elections in four seats in various states, saying it was a big win for the INDIA coalition.

The BJP lost in Dumri (Jharkhand), Puthuppally (Kerala), Ghosi (Uttar Pradesh) and Dhupguri, the ECI said.

“Dhupguri is a big win. The seat was with the BJP. It’s a historic victory and I congratulate all the people of Dhupguri. This is a win of the people,” Mamata Banerjee told reporters at the city airport before leaving for New Delhi.

At the national capital, Mamata Banerjee will attend President Droupadi Murmu’s G20 dinner invitation on Saturday.

“I would like to congratulate all those who defeated the BJP to win the bypolls. The BJP has lost four bypolls out of the seven held on September 5. This is a big win for INDIA,” she said.

“I thank the people of Dhupguri for reposing faith in us and voting decisively in our favour in the critical by-election to the Assembly constituency. People in North Bengal have been with us and trust our strategy of growth, inclusiveness and empowerment. Bengal has shown its mandate, and soon INDIA too will show its preference. Jai Bangla!” she posted on X, formerly Twitter.

With this victory, the TMC’s tally went up to 217 in the 294-member assembly. It also enjoys the support of six BJP MLAs, who switched over to the ruling party but are yet to resign from the House.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said the people of Dhupguri embraced politics of development over hatred and bigotry.

“Saluting every AITC worker for their tireless efforts in connecting with the people. We’re committed to leaving no stone unturned in ensuring Dhupguri’s all-round development,” he posted on X.

He had promised to make Dhupguri a sub-division by December this year.

Criticising the state BJP leadership’s failure to fix the organisational gaps for the defeat in the Dhupguri bypoll, party national secretary Anupam Hazra on Friday called for “proper” self-assessment and fixing of the lacunae ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

“I think it is high time that there is proper self-assessment and organisational gaps are fixed ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. We should take measures to fix our lacunae at the earliest,” Hazra told PTI.

Former BJP state president and MP Dilip Ghosh said it was “quite natural” for the party in power in the state to win bypolls.

“But at the same time, we must also have some sort of self-assessment regarding the results,” he said.

State BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya, however, said the party will react to the election result later after a thorough discussion within the party.

With its defeat in Dhupguri, the BJP has lost all by-elections since its 2021 assembly polls and the official number of seats of the party in the state assembly has come down to 74 from 77.

Six BJP MLAs have switched to the TMC but are yet to resign.

Holding that an opposition party has only a slender chance to win a by-election, the CPI(M) said it will review the Dhupguri bypoll results and take necessary steps to strengthen its organisation in North Bengal.

CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty claimed that anti-BJP feeling is increasingly gaining strength countrywide.

“An opposition party candidate has only a slender chance to win a bypoll as the ruling party has an advantage,” he said.

Admitting weakness in organisational strength in the assembly constituency, Chakraborty said, “We will review the result and take necessary steps.” CPI(M) candidate Ishwar Chandra Roy received 13,758 votes, around 600 more than what the party got in the seat in 2021 assembly polls.

Senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim alleged that the Congress and the Left campaigned against West Bengal’s ruling party despite being alliance partners in the INDIA bloc, an opposition front formed to take on the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.

“We are against the BJP and have been constantly fighting against them. But the Congress and the Left are fighting and campaigning against us and trying to help the BJP in Bengal,” he said.

The BJP had snatched the seat from the TMC, which it had won twice since 2011, in the 2021 assembly polls.

The bypoll was necessitated owing to the demise of BJP MLA Bishnu Pada Ray.

The counting of votes was held amid tight security on Jalpaiguri campus of North Bengal University.

The polling for the by-election was held on September 5. A voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)