TMC projects Abhishek while BJP battles dissension

Under Abhishek's leadership, the party has taken up a high-decibel campaign against the Centre on MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana funds.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

Months before the 2024 general elections, battleground Bengal presents a strange picture. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) is putting up a united front even while its functionaries are being investigated by Central agencies for alleged involvement in multiple scams in which many leaders are already behind bars. On the other hand, challenger BJP, which ought to have been on a roll with so many credible accusations against the TMC, presents a picture of disarray.

The Trinamool Congress has pulled out all stops to project Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Chief Minister and allegedly the prime beneficiary of the scams being investigated, as a mass leader.

Under Abhishek's leadership, the party has taken up a high-decibel campaign against the Centre for withholding funds under MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana, conveniently ignoring the fact that the state government did not take corrective and punitive action despite the Centre's repeated prods.

Abhishek announced that he would lead a movement against the Centre and the programme would kick off from Rajghat on 2 October. The next day, the party staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar and later in the evening, when its leaders went to meet the Minister of State for Rural Development, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, they were unceremoniously pushed out of the Minister's office.

The bruised Trinamool brigade came back to Kolkata with nothing to show for its efforts. Once back home empty-handed, the party decided to play the victim card to take full advantage of the treatment it received in Delhi. Allowed by a pliant Kolkata Police, the party set up a stage at the gates of the Raj Bhavan, in contravention of permanent prohibitory orders, ostensibly to espouse the cause of deprived MGNREGA job-card holders.