It is the Trinamool Congress vs Trinamool Congress in Bengal, or to put it precisely, it's the old guard vs new guard.
Discontent was brewing in the TMC ranks for quite some time now, but the row over candidate list for local polls has opened a can of worms, and the rift seems to be almost never-ending.
One Person One Post
From Thursday, February 10, the young guard of the TMC, especially those who are close to the party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, started posting about the party's 'One Person One Post' formula all over social media. They included Mamata's newphew Akash Banerjee, nieces Agnisha Banerjee and Aditi Gayen among others.
This was clearly targeted at senior leaders who are holding more than one post in the party.
India Today reported that sources close to the party said that these social media posts were part of a "semi-spontaneous" campaign and to show "solidarity with Abhishek Banerjee".
The formula was first coined by Abhishek Banerjee on 5 June 20221, and while it was initially accepted by the party widely, it didn't go down well with some senior leaders.
Senior leaders like Firhad Hakim and Partha Chatterjee slammed the online developments and said that whatever decision is taken by the party supremo Mamata Banerjee is final. Hakim, who is incidentally Kolkata's Mayor and the Cabinet Minister of Transport and Housing in the West Bengal government, said that the party does not endorse such online campaigns.
Previously, when releasing the list of candidates for the municipal elections, Chatterjee had claimed that no MLA had been given a ticket, but later it was found out that MLAs were indeed given ticket.
Sources close to the party have alleged that the party supremo herself isn't on board with the formula, bringing to light the 'apparent' differences between her and nephew Abhishek.
The TMC-IPAC implosion
Fingers were also pointed at I-PAC since the candidate list controversy, as leaders claimed that it was Prashant Kishor's team that was incharge of the party's and its leaders' social media handles.
Sources in I-PAC had denied the allegations and on Friday, 11 Februray, the organisation tweeted that they do not handle any of TMC's or its leaders' social media accounts.
This came shortly after WB Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya claimed that I-PAC was posting on her behalf. She claimed that I-PAC had used her profile to change the cover photo to endorse the "One Person One Post" campaign.
Meanwhile, I-PAC had unfollowed Mamata Banerjee on Friday evening, adding fuel to the speculations that the two might finally be breaking up. But within an hour or so, they followed her back.
Old Guard vs New Guard
Mamata Banerjee has called for an emergency meeting at her residence on Saturday, 12 February, at 5pm to talk about the present situation concercing the party.
This comes after several leaders went public with their opinion about Abhishek Banerjee and I-PAC. At the centre of this is TMC MP Sougata Roy and MLA Madan Mitra. While Sougata Roy has praised I-PAC for helping the party win the 2021 Assembly elections, Mitra has called out Roy for damaging the party from the inside.
Mitra has also been vocal in pledging his support to Abhishek and Mamata, but calling out I-PAC and the senior leadership for their deeds.
The old guard vs new guard battle had been brewing for a long time as insider sources claimed that several senior leaders were not happy with Abhishek's rise to power, and him being the heir apparent.
They feel that Banerjee still has to prove himself. This sparked a war between Abhishek loyalists and the old guard.
Meanwhile, Kunal Ghosh hit out at Mukul Roy, urging the CBI and ED to arrest Mukul Roy in relation to the Saradha and Narada case, and called him an "influential conspirator".
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