Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 13 facing rebellion within the family, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday severed all relations with her youngest brother Babun Banerjee who had opposed the re-nomination of footballer-turned-politician Prasun Banerjee as the Trinamool Congress candidate for the Howrah Lok Sabha seat and threatened to contest against the official party nominee as an independent.
“My family and I renounce all relationship with Babun…” the fiery Ms Banerjee told reporters at Siliguri where she was addressing a party gathering. “Before every election, he creates a problem. I don’t like greedy people and don’t believe in dynasty politics, so that I will give him a ticket in elections. I have decided to disown him and cut off all relationship with him,” the irascible Trinamool chief said.
Her angry reaction came soon after Babun Banerjee criticised the Trinamool for its selection of Prasun Banerjee, who is the sitting Howrah MP. “I am not happy with the selection of the candidate… (He) is not the right choice. Many capable candidates who were overlooked,” he said.
“I can never forget the insult Prasun hurled at me,” he declared, also offering himself as a candidate. And, in a sharp jab, he suggested he might even contest the seat as an independent option for the voters. “I know didi (as Ms Banerjee is sometimes called) would not agree with me. But, if needed, I will contest as independent from Howrah Lok Sabha seat,” Babun Banerjee, the youngest of Mamata’s five brothers, had said.
“I work with crores of people in my party. I have nothing called family. ‘Maa Mati Manush’ is my family. In terms of blood relations, I have a family of 32 members. But no one is like him. Everyone is unhappy with him,” Mamata said.
“I am saying this directly. Those who consider themselves big in a short time, their greed also increases. I don’t practise dynasty politics. I did not like that person whom you named, but had to tolerate him so far. But not anymore. Anyone can fight elections from anywhere. We will stand by our party candidate. He has forgotten his childhood. He was two-and-a-half years old when our father died. We brought him up with much hardship,” Mamata added.
Prasun Banerjee is a three-time winner of the prestigious Howrah seat, which has been held by the Trinamool since Ambica Banerjee won it off the Communist Party in 2009. Ms Banerjee’s move also comes amid speculation that her brother could make a shock switch to rivals BJP, for whom the capture of an arch rival’s close family member will be a massive boost. Asked about reports that he brother may join the BJP, she retorted, “He can do whatever he wants. The party stands by its official candidate Prasun Banerjee.”
However, the Chief Minister’s brother has insisted talk of such a jump is unfounded. “As long as Mamatadi is there, I will never quit and neither will I join any other party. Yes, as I am connected to sports I know many BJP leaders… who are also connected,” he said.
His re-assurances, though, were not sought by Ms Banerjee, who declared, “He can do whatever he wants to. The party stands by its official candidate – Prasun Banerjee.” This is far from the first time Ms Banerjee and her brother have squabbled.
However, this is not the first time that the siblings have fought in public. Mamata Banerjee had rebuked her brother earlier as well, during the COVID-19 pandemic for violating safety rules. In January 2022, Ms Banerjee told off her brother publicly for “roaming around with a Covid case at home”. Bengal was then reporting a surge in infections with over 14,000 cases.
“Charity begins at home,” she said, sharing that she felt deeply offended that someone in her own family was violating safety protocols during the pandemic. “We seem to have forgotten that if you have someone down with Covid at home, you cannot keep moving around. Someone in my house has done it and I am very offended,” Ms Banerjee said.
“My younger brother’s wife has Covid but my brother Babun is roaming around. I don’t like it. Remember, I am a very outspoken person. I have told him not to go anywhere from tomorrow.”
The Trinamool this week announced candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The ruling party is a member of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, which had hoped to broker a three-way seat-share deal, including with Left parties that Ms Banerjee sees as a fierce rival.
Negotiations fell through in January, with a displeased Ms Banerjee and her party snapping ties with the Congress due to disagreements over seats demanded by the latter.
In February there were signs a deal could be salvaged, with the Congress reducing it’s ask to five seats. The Trinamool, though, would not budge from its offer of two – the only two the Congress won in 2019. Ms Banerjee, seen by many as one of the BJP’s fiercest critics and biggest rival, underlined her belief that only her party could defeat the saffron outfit.
