New Delhi: India TV’s popular show “Koffee Par Kurukshetra” on Tuesday (June 2) discussed the issue whether Trinamool Congress has become vacant? Has Mamata Banerjee become lonely? Pradeep Singh and Manoj Kumar Singh (psychologist) were present as guests in the discussion along with the show’s anchor and India TV Senior Executive Editor Saurav Sharma and India TV Political Editor Devendra Parashar.
Stampede in TMC
It was discussed in the discussion that there is a stampede in TMC just 26-27 days after the election results. After the expulsion of two MLAs from the party, a meeting of 52 MLAs was held with them. Mamata Banerjee sat on a dharna in the center of Kolkata, but only 5-6 leaders were seen with her – Madan Mitra, Farhad Hakim, Ashok Dev, Shubman Dev Chatterjee, Kalyan Banerjee etc.
Mamta, who usually comes out with thousands of people, was seen alone this time. There was no crowd of public or big leaders gathered at the protest. The opposition group is active. There is talk of making Ritabrata Mukherjee the Leader of Opposition. Rebel MLAs are preparing to send a letter to the Speaker. It was told in the program that many of the 80 TMC MLAs are angry and there are reports of around 50-60 MLAs joining the rebel group. Some MLAs even tried to contact BJP on the day of election counting.
Fear of Maharashtra model
A big part of the discussion was whether there will be an alliance like Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar in TMC? Will any leader take the name and symbol of the party? On this discussion, the guests said that BJP does not want to directly take on TMC leaders on a large scale. Its goal is to end Mamata Banerjee’s politics, not to completely wipe out the party. The strategy is to weaken the influence of Mamata-Abhishek by creating a big faction within TMC, then gradually divide the party into smaller pieces by removing more factions. This will polarize votes and BJP will benefit.
Main causes of crisis
The guests cited several internal reasons for the downfall of TMC, including nepotism and hijacking. Mamata Banerjee gave utmost importance to nephew Abhishek Banerjee in the party. Abhishek ran the party through IPAC. MPs and MLAs longed to meet him or his staff. IPAC people used to decide tickets, Rajya Sabha seats etc. This angered old workers and leaders.
Syndicate rule and corruption were also the root causes of the crisis. Complaints about toll booths, katamoney and extortion were common. There were allegations of cuts in central schemes, hooliganism and bullying. Issues like Sandeshkhali increased public anger. Distance from workers was also a big reason. After coming to power, both Mamata and Abhishek distanced themselves from the workers. Even after losing the election, he remained silent for 26 days. Eggs were thrown at Abhishek. This shows internal resentment.
Apart from this, lack of ideology was also a big issue. It is believed that TMC is not a rooted party. It was based on power and selfishness. A stampede broke out as soon as power was lost.
What is BJP’s strategy?
During the discussion it was said that BJP does not want to associate TMC leaders collectively because it could tarnish its image. She is promoting sabotage from within. There are reports of contacts with 45 Hindu and some Muslim MLAs, but these are being officially denied. The influence of leaders like Shubhendu Adhikari also seems to be increasing.
What is Mamta’s future?
The guests in the program said that Mamta is now 71 years old. It is difficult to get back to the old Street Fighter image. Abhishek remains her biggest liability and she is unable to separate him. Protests no longer seem to be effective. It is a question whether the party will survive or not, but in the present form the existence of TMC has become weak.
The guests said that parties do not collapse suddenly, but the collapse accelerates when the mass base and activist support is gone. There is an atmosphere of fear in TMC now. There is fear of police action, investigating agencies and uncertainty about the future.
To see the complete discussion in detail, click on the video given at the top.
(Disclaimer: This article is based on the discussion at the event and the views expressed during the program are the personal views of the guests.)
SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
