Mamata cracks whip on Abhishek's cheerleaders

Last week, the Trinamool Congress steamrolled its way to a spectacular win in all six Assembly by-elections, which were necessitated due to the election of its incumbents to the Lok Sabha.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

While five seats had been held by the Trinamool Congress, the Madarihat seat had long been a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The massive margins with which the Trinamool Congress won the seats highlighted the hegemony it enjoys at the grassroots.

Despite the string of spectacular electoral successes, all is not well within Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress party, observers say. They maintain that fissures and clashes of ambition at the top of the ruling party are trickling down to lowerlevel leaders.

Hardly had the electoral euphoria died down when Mamata Banerjee moved swiftly to muzzle voices questioning her authority and to bolster the position of her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.

"These new leaders have all come up under Abhishek's patronage, and they only want to replace Mamata's old guard. So, they are all singing paeans to Abhishek. After all, there can be no vacuum in politics," said veteran journalist Suman Chattopadhyay.

Trinamool watchers say Mamata Banerjee had long given a free hand to her heir apparent and nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, who had worked to establish his position in the party-much to the chagrin of leaders who have been with Mamata since her Congress days.

During the party's Martyrs' Day rally on July 21, Abhishek publicly stated that the party would act within three months against underperforming functionaries in Trinamool-run civic and rural bodies and against organizational heads in areas where the party lagged behind the BJP in the general election. His office prepared a performance report on the functionaries of around 120 civic bodies and submitted a list of proposed organizational changes in various districts to Mamata Banerjee.

Abhishek's camp followers have been quick to credit him for the electoral success, even disparaging the Old Guard and pointing out shortcomings in party supremo Mamata Banerjee, implying that it was time for Abhishek's ascent.