Though Abhishek Banerjee has been the Trinamool Congress (TMC)’s de facto number two for a few years now and has a major say in state politics, there is now a concerted attempt to raise his national profile. From accompanying Mamata Banerjee to Opposition unity meetings and being made the TMC’s representative in the INDIA alliance’s coordination committee to the Delhi protests over frozen Central funds, the Diamond Harbour MP is trying to burnish his credentials as a national-level leader. Abhishek has been a parliamentarian since 2014 but his actual rise within the TMC began after the party’s underwhelming performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections when its tally of parliamentary seats reduced from 34 to 22 and the BJP recorded its best-ever show in the parliamentary elections in Bengal. The win in the 2021 Assembly elections marked a shift in Abhishek’s rise as his grip on the state Cabinet solidified and Mamata put him in charge of the party’s national expansion plans, among the first indications of her nephew’s increasing hold on the party. The TMC attempted to establish itself in states such as Goa, Meghalaya, and Tripura ahead of the Assembly elections there — and even tried to put down roots in Assam — but the exercise ended in failure. Abhishek’s rise has caused friction within the party, with the TMC old guard, including the likes of Firhad Hakim and Kalyan Bandopadhyay, unhappy about it. But that Mamata’s nephew is her heir apparent is seen as inevitable in TMC circles. This year, his statewide yatra to rejuvenate the party’s grassroots support and role in candidate selection were attributed as reasons for the panchayat poll success in June. With the TMC raising the pitch over the past few months over frozen Central funds — something the party alleges the BJP-led government is doing in retaliation for losing several consecutive elections in the state — it was Abhishek who first issued the call for the Delhi campaign. At the party’s July 21 Martyrs’ Day rally, he took aim at the Centre, saying, “Our next movement will be in Delhi, outside Krishi Bhavan. We will all fight shoulder to shoulder.” Abhishek registered a landslide victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha election as he received over 10 lakh votes and defeated his nearest opponent by over 7 lakh votes.