TMC’s double coup and Mamata’s silence: Martyrs’ Day will be her last test

The rebellion in the Trinamool Congress is more of a coup within the newly-elected legislature party of 80 members of the West Bengal state assembly and the 29 elected Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha.

The only similarity, on the surface, between the two factions, one in Kolkata and one in New Delhi, is that both claim to have the support of the majority of the members and their claim to represent the party is the official stamp of approval from the Speakers of the two legislative bodies.

Two differences

There are two big differences, however; the putschists in the Lok Sabha have not yet received the stamp of approval from Om Birla, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The letter that putsch leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claims to have submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s office on May 8, with the signatures of 19 or 20 MPs, was not, in fact, officially received. She is now scheduled to submit the letter to Birla on June 15, with the signatures of the putschists who have joined her in staging the takeover of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party.

The Ghosh Dastidar faction first said it had requested Birla to re-seat them on the benches with the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party; it now transpires that the faction has revised its position and its members wish to operate as independents.

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The 60 or more putschists of the West Bengal state assembly have, on the contrary, declared themselves as the Opposition to the BJP government, with Ritabrata Banerjee, a newbie legislator in state politics, recognised by the Speaker Rathindra Basu as the Leader of the Opposition. The recognition implies that Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, named as the LoP by the Trinamool Congress owing allegiance to Mamata Banerjee, is not the legitimate claimant of the position. The matter has gone to court, over allegations that the signatures of Trinamool Congress MLAs were forged in the resolution that was submitted to Basu and that Abhishek Banerjee, the national general secretary of the party, had no locus standi in naming Chattopadhyay as the LoP.

The mystery of signatures and letters has triggered a tug of war about which block of MLAs represents the Trinamool Congress. The chaos reflects how unstable things are within the Trinamool Congress. It strengthens the perception that Mamata Banerjee, after her personal defeat from the Bhabanipur constituency and the larger defeat of her party, is no longer the leader.

Is a political party only its elected representatives?

The reduction of a political party to its legislative-parliamentary representatives is an absurdity. If that were indeed the case, then the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and its Left Front allies, as well as the Congress, would have been deemed to have disappeared or evaporated after the two parties failed to win even one seat in the West Bengal 2021 assembly elections. In the case of the CPI(M), the party should have been considered wiped out or finished, since it did not win a single seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

This is not to argue that the Trinamool Congress is not in dire straits; a “zero” FIR has been lodged against Mamata Banerjee for her provocative speech during the election campaign, and she has been accused of instigating post-poll violence. Her home and party office were raided by the state’s Criminal Investigation Department while she was in New Delhi to attend the meeting of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA alliance).

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Former ministers and councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation have been arrested or taken into custody for questioning, after raids were conducted in their offices and residences over accusations of crimes committed related to corruption and abuse of power. Her anointed heir and the party’s controversial national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was hauled in for questioning by the CID in the forged signature case. An older case, dating to 2018, a charge of assault, has been revived against him on the complaint made by Abhijit Das (alias Bobby) of the BJP from the Diamond Harbour parliamentary constituency. The revival of an old case is oddly reminiscent of the modus operandi of the BJP against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, especially in the National Herald cases.

Unruly transition of government

The Trinamool Congress may be in tatters, as kangaroo courts, openly led by local BJP leaders, target local panchayat functionaries and former MLAs, accusing them of theft of government property like tarpaulins, buckets, and clothing, and pelting them with eggs. Mobs have surfaced that are unearthing stacks of cash hidden away by local Trinamool Congress leaders; the cash is being counted and distributed among “beneficiaries” from whom it was allegedly stolen. The government of Suvendu Adhikari, which insists it will maintain law and order, has proved to be totally indifferent to these happenings. The chief minister is either in denial or is ignorant of such goings-on, though, given the extent of media coverage, how he could be unaware of what’s happening is a mystery.

All of this points to an unruly transition following a regime change. A seamless, orderly change of government is one of the hallmarks of a healthy democracy. The confusion over who is the legitimate Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha and in the West Bengal state assembly is another manifestation of the chaos that has set in, post the downfall of Mamata Banerjee.

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The forged signature fiasco in the state assembly was certainly her responsibility, even if it were, as is alleged, the doings of Abhishek Banerjee. The rest of it, whether the putschists in New Delhi are part of the NDA or they are independents, whether the Kolkata putschists are in the opposition or have been co-opted by the BJP, is different, and not her responsibility.

The situation raises a question: in a healthy democracy, is it not necessary to have an opposition that holds the ruling party to account by being critical of its every act of omission and commission? As of now, the West Bengal situation suggests that one part of the Trinamool Congress is being coy about declaring that it has changed loyalties and aligned with the BJP, while another part is beleaguered, and Mamata Banerjee, who is the founder and leader of the party, has yet to make her move.

Mamata’s inaction

Her lack of action is partly because she has to figure out how to deal with a problem like Abhishek Banerjee when a gun is pointed at her head by a loyalist like MP Kalyan Banerjee, who was designated chief whip and now faces a challenge from Ghosh Dastidar, who claims the same position. Her inaction is destabilising for her supporters, admirers, and the legions of voters who are opposed to the BJP.

Since neither the assembly legislature nor Parliament are spaces that she can use as an Opposition leader to counter the current double-engine regime of CM Adhikari and PM Modi, the only available space for her are the streets and fields of urban and rural West Bengal.

Martyrs’ Day rally

Martyrs’ Day on July 21, that is usually commemorated by Mamata with a huge rally in memory of the 13 people who were killed in police firing in 1993, is a possible date for her return to the public space. The Congress has announced that it will participate in the Shaheed Diwas rally. Two things can happen; she and the Congress can be denied permission to hold the rally, based on court orders that movement cannot be obstructed in public spaces; or, she and the Congress can be allowed to show their strength and popular support on that day.

Were Adhikari to follow the BJP playbook, he is more likely to deny Mamata permission to block the roads on a working day. He can make it impossible for Trinamool Congress rallyists from the districts to come for the memorial meeting. Or he can do what Yogi Adityanath did in Uttar Pradesh—punished rallyists, perhaps correctly, accusing them of vandalism and damaging public property, imposing fines and confiscating property to pay for the repairs to the damaged structures.

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It would also pose a dilemma for the legislative-parliamentary putschists, challenging their claim to be the “real” Trinamool Congress. The July 21 Martyrs Day has symbolic value. It could, therefore, test the public’s response to Mamata and her leadership in turbulent times.

In either scenario, it creates the space and the opportunity that Mamata can utilise to revert to her street fighter persona. Any disturbance would also create the conditions for the Opposition to take to the streets. Politics pursued in public spaces has currently been frozen; the moment it thaws, it will be a test for Mamata and the combined opposition of the CPI(M), the Congress, and the Indian Secular Front.