PRINCE OF TRINAMOOL

MAMATA’S NEPHEW ABHISHEK BANERJEE HAS TIGHTENED HIS GRIP ON THE PARTY, AND IS EFFECTIVELY THE STRATEGIC HQ OF THE TRINAMOOL CONGRESS FOR THE BIG ELECTION BATTLE OF 2021

- ROMITA DATTA

An alert pings on the phone and a hush descends on the conference room where moments ago MPs, MLAs and cabinet ministers were chattering away. Those puffing away in the smokers’ zone stub their cigarettes and rush to their seats. Policemen in plainclothes outside the Trinamool Congress Bhawan on Kolkata’s Eastern Metropolitan Bypass cordon off the 50-odd supporters, allowing an eight-car motorcade to roll in. A black Toyota Fortuner halts outside the main entrance and the ‘Yuvaraj (prince)’ of Trinamool Congress (TMC), Abhishek Banerjee, steps out and makes his way inside. A few party seniors rise on cue. A quick word with two veteran leaders and the hall slips into an oppressive silence.

Minutes later, a more modest steel grey Hyundai i20, no-frills nor beacon, arrives. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, seated in front, alights, greets the waiting staff and enters the conference room. The buzz returns, conversations resume, and as Mamata settles down, the comfortable familiarity of old camaraderie returns to the assembly.

The contrast is stark between Mamata, who likes to make a point about her simple, bordering on the austere, lifestyle and her nephew, for whom flamboyance is second nature. Or in Didi’s friendly, approachable demeanour and Abhishek’s reserve and studied reticence. Mamata has worked her way up in politics—from student leader to Union minister to chief minister. Abhishek is accused of getting success on a platter, on the back of Didi’s popularity and the hard work of TMC veterans.

THE RISE OF ABHISHEK