Mamata’s ‘no ties’ fury triggers brother’s change of heart in TMC ‘family drama’

There was high “family drama” in the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday (March 13), with Mamata Banerjee’s younger brother Swapan Banerjee threatening to contest the Howrah Lok Sabha seat as an Independent and then seeking Didi’s forgiveness and blessings after the furious party supremo made a public statement snapping all ties with him.

Swapan, or Babun, as he is better known, is evidently unhappy with two-time MP Prasun Banerjee getting the party ticket yet again for the prestigious Howrah seat. He and the former footballer and Arjuna Award-winner Prasun have had quite a hostile relationship since 2018, when their respective supporters had traded blows at the annual general meeting of Mohun Bagan club.

Babun’s rant

On Wednesday morning, Babun (52) made his displeasure of Prasun getting the Howrah ticket clear to the media in Delhi, claiming that Prasun was “not the right choice” and that “many capable candidates” were overlooked, possibly indicating that he would have been a better choice.

“I am allergic towards him,” he said. “I haven’t forgotten how he misbehaved with me during the Mohun Bagan AGM. I have doubts whether he is qualified to be an MP. Someone who can’t clear Class V exams, is being handed the graduation certificate,” Babun added.

“I know Didi [as Mamata Banerjee is often called] would not agree with me. But if needed, I will contest as an Independent from Howrah,” Babun said, claiming that he had been assured of getting a poll ticket in 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly polls too.

Mamata’s public rebuke

Mamata, who was in Siliguri, North Bengal, lashed out at Babun for the statement, calling him “greedy” and saying that he had “troubled” her before every election and that he could “go anywhere he wanted”.

“I have said several times that I have no other family barring maa-mati-manush [“mother-land-people”, the TMC catchphrase]. I have blood ties with 32 people. No one is like him [Babun]. Everyone is upset with him,” Mamata fumed.

“Don’t call him my brother. I dissociate myself from him…I don’t approve of many of his activities… If all my family members start asking for [poll] tickets, I will be into dynasty politics but I don’t do that… He has troubled me before every election,” said the visibly upset Chief Minister of West Bengal. She added that she had not been able to “raise him well”.

She asserted several times that Prasun was the party candidate for the Howrah seat and everyone in the party had the responsibility to see him through.

Babun’s U-turn

She said Babun was “greedy” and had thrown her and Prasun a challenge by wanting to contest as an Independent. “Prasun is our candidate from Howrah and he has been challenged. The stakes are higher now,” she added.

Soon after Didi’s public telling off, Babun made a U-turn and begged her forgiveness saying he had “made a mistake”. “Didi can say whatever she wants to… I have nothing to say against the party nominee. Didi’s blessings mean everything to me,” Babun told the media again.

He also released a video saying reports of his joining the BJP were “fake”.

Who is Babun Banerjee?

Babun is a known name in the sports arena. He has held key positions in the Bengal Olympic Association (BOA) since 2016, first as secretary and then as president.

He is also the football secretary of Mohun Bagan Athletic Club and is associated with hockey and boxing. Besides sports, he also heads workers’ unions in a few private hospitals in Kolkata.

He was instrumental is getting several players — including Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, and Prasun Banerjee himself — into the TMC fold. Before the Howrah Lok Sabha bypolls in 2013, Babun had actively campaigned for Prasun.

However, Babun’s hopes were possibly raised by Prasun’s son-in-law Abir Ranjan Biswas not being renominated as TMC’s Rajya Sabha candidate in 2024.