Mamata splits West Bengal Congress

But the rally was well-attended enough to furrow the foreheads of the state unit of the mainstream Congress. Said Manas Bunia, one of the leading local organisers of the official plenary: “She has formed the TMC (Tamil Maanila Congress) of Bengal.”

Mamata announced she would form units of frontal organisations like Mahila Congress, the Chhatra Parishad, the Seva Dal and student units in all districts in the state, indicating that her party would be more regional than pan-Indian in character.

The Rebel Without A Pause gave herself three months to get her party on its feet and claimed, “by December we will hold a rally on (the far more spacious) Brigade Ground to announce the death knell of the Left Front in Bengal.” She invited “like-minded politicians and political parties” to join her Bangla Bachao Front and even appealed to those Left Front partners who are “disenchanted with the CPM” to join her.

Congressmen attending the official plenary stayed away from Mamata’s meeting but former Union minister Ajit Panja long sidelined by the Congress High Command caused a mild surprise by turning up and addressing the contested the CWC polls today. Sonia Gandhi, Mamata said, would have attended her rally had her SPG cover not declared it posed a security risk. During her speech, Mamata ridiculed Congress president Sitaram Kesri’s much-publicised reference to her as his beti.

“By calling me daughter, people in Delhi were under the impression that they could silence me with lollipops,” she said, drawing uproarious applause from the crowd.

A mild shower setback the start of the rally by about an hour. As is her wont, Mamata was many things rolled into one: chief organiser (she was at the venue till after midnight, supervising arrangements at the venue of the rally), usher (“please form an orderly line; you there! stop pushing”), cheerleader (“zindabad-zindabad”), stern school teacher (“sit down, stay quiet”), and announcer. Her media-savvy too was in evidence.

From time to time she admonished her supporters for leaving photographers and cameramen unsighted near the dais or inconveniencing (“if you do not let them do their work, I will go away”) reporters covering the event. For good measure, she went bilingual, peppering her speech with English (“for the benefit of the national and international press assembled here,” as she explained). With the elan of an evangelist, Mamata got vast sections of her audience to join her sloganeering. The effect was magical: on cue, thousands chanted after her.

On a couple of occasions her harangue was so high-pitched, her voiced even cracked. The crowd loved it. For Bengal’s best-known saleswoman of salvation, it was just another day at the office.