Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, May 16: Down but not out former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed her resolve to fight back and rebuild her Trinamool Congress even while giving a free choice to all those who want to quit the party.
Ms Banerjee convened a meeting at her Kalighat residence of all those who had contested on the TMC ticket in the just-concluded State Assembly elections in which the party suffered a serious setback severely mauled by the BJP after 15 years in power. The meeting was attended among others by the party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Addressing the meeting, Ms Banerjee said the organisation would rise again despite suffering a crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections. “Those who are leaving for other parties, let them go. I will rebuild the party afresh. To those who are staying, I say rebuild the damaged party offices, paint them and reopen them. If needed, I too will paint them. Trinamool Congress will never bow down. People’s mandate has been looted,” Banerjee said.
The TMC had fielded candidates in 291 seats, leaving three seats in the Darjeeling hills to its ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM) led by Anit Thapa. Of these, only 80 candidates emerged victorious, while 211 lost, including several heavyweight leaders and ministers. The meeting at Kalighat was convened for candidates who had contested the elections on the party’s ticket amid reports of internal discontent and speculation over possible defections after the electoral debacle.
The meeting echoed Banerjee’s remarks made a day after the results were declared. Addressing a press conference on May 5, the party supremo had said she was aware that some leaders might switch camps. “I know many will leave for other parties. They may have their own compulsions. I have nothing to say about that. Whoever wants to go may go. I do not believe in forcibly holding anyone back,” she had said.
The TMC’s official X handle later posted photographs of the meeting and praised the contesting candidates for their fight during the election campaign. “Today, our Hon’ble Chairperson @MamataOfficial and our Hon’ble National General Secretary @abhishekaitc met with our contesting candidates at Kalighat. They fought with unmatched courage despite facing unimaginable atrocities and relentless intimidation.
“The Trinamool Congress stands united as one family. We will never bow before those who loot the people’s mandate. Truth will prevail,” the party posted on X on Friday. The post also reiterated the party’s charge that the electoral mandate had been “stolen,” a claim repeatedly raised by TMC leaders after the poll results. Party insiders said Banerjee used the meeting to boost the morale of candidates who had contested the polls and send a message of unity amid a difficult phase for the organisation.
Meanwhile, the TMC alleged that one of its candidate in the last elections, Asian Games gold medal winning athlete Swapna Barman, came under attack by BJP. Abhishek Banerjee said on Friday that the BJP supporters set fire to her home. Taking to X, Mr Banerjee alleged that Ms Barman was targeted by “BJP goons” because she joined the TMC and fought the recently concluded state polls on the party’s ticket.
“An athlete who brought glory to the nation is being repaid with violence, intimidation and fear — simply because she chose to stand with the Trinamool Congress,” he wrote. The post from the TMC’s general secretary — stating “India FAILED YOU, dear Swapna” — came a day after an exasperated Ms Barman took to social media to state that “joining politics was a mistake,” in the aftermath of the alleged arson at her Kaliaganj home in Uttar Dinajpur district.
On Friday, Barman had alleged that a property owned by her, built of corrugated tin and located next to the house she currently resides in, was set on fire by unidentified miscreants. The affected property was inhabited by a brother of the athlete who, she alleged, was receiving death threats from “unidentified goons” in the aftermath of the May 4 declaration of Assembly poll results.
Ms Barman said she too was threatened with “dire consequences, including rape.” “Had I known this would happen, I would have never joined politics. Today they set my house on fire,” she later posted on her social media page. Mr Banerjee, in his post on X, launched a scathing attack on the BJP, accusing the party of perpetrating the violence.
“THIS is the grim reality under @BJP4India’s watch. THIS is the ‘Parivartan’ they promised,” Mr Banerjee said. “The @BJP4India govt must answer. This CANNOT become the new normal. If supporting the Trinamool Congress now means risking your safety, your family and even your home, WHERE ARE WE HEADED, AS A NATION? If this is how an athlete who brought glory to India is treated for her political choices, the state of democracy should worry EVERY Indian,” he added.
The district police, while confirming the blaze and stating it was doused by the firefighting personnel, said they have launched a probe into the incident. Ms Barman won the historic gold medal in the women’s heptathlon at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and created history by becoming the first Indian heptathlete to achieve this milestone.
She joined the TMC on February 27 this year and contested the Assembly elections from Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district, but was humbled by BJP’s Dinesh Sarkar with a margin of over 21,000 votes.
The Rajbanshi athlete, a former employee of the North Frontier Railway in the Alipurduar division, was dismissed from service for flouting government service rules, which prohibit employees from political involvement, after it was found that she joined the TMC, without officially resigning first.
State Minister Dilip Ghosh said Ms Barman must lose the “dishonest company” she currently keeps. “She is a respected athlete and should stay out of politics. She should especially avoid the company of those who are the worst representations of this world because it doesn’t suit her stature. She should stand for her country with dignity and the BJP will be standing by her,” Mr Ghosh said.
