From promising “zero tolerance” against corruption to seeking public feedback on candidate selection to announcing support for same-sex marriage – Trinamool Congress No 2 leader Abhishek Banerjee is recasting his party’s image as, what many call, “TMC 2.0”
Abhishek, 35, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and widely considered her heir apparent, recently came out openly in support of same-sex marriage, thereby becoming the country’s first prominent politician to take such a stand. His remarks came at a time the Supreme Court is hearing petitions seeking recognition of same-sex marriages.
At a press conference in Kolkata on April 20, while announcing the TMC’s new public outreach programmes as part of its “Trinamooley Nabajowar (a new wave in the Trinamool)” ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections, Abhishek candidly responded to reporters’ questions on the same-sex marriage issue too.
He said, “The matter (the same-sex marriage case) is sub-judice and I think India is a democratic country and everyone has got the right to choose their life partner. Love has no religion, love has no boundaries… If I am a man and am fond of a man or if I am a woman and am fond of a woman, whatever the combination that is, I am no authority to comment on that. But I believe that everyone has the right to fall in love, select and choose their life partner. I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will certainly rule in favour of the democracy and ethos that we take pride in and the unity and diversity that unite India.”
Criticising the BJP-led Centre’s opposition to same-sex marriage, Abhishek said, “The Centre is deliberately delaying the matter… They want to dilly-dally on the matter for no reason.”
So far, among India’s major political parties, only the CPI has come out to support same-sex marriage.
Even Mamata has refrained from taking a stand on the issue. Recently, to a question on it at a press conference, she just said: “I will not say anything because the matter is sub-judice. I love people who love others. This matter is sensitive, and I have to see the pulse of the people. I will have to see the order of the court and then we can form an opinion.”
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After the TMC suffered a blow in Bengal in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, when the BJP managed to bag 18 seats as against the former’s 22 seats, Abhishek came to the forefront to revamp the party organisation. He hired a corporate agency and launched a major outreach campaign called “Didi ke Bolo”. Alongside, the Mamata government also launched “Duare Sarkar” scheme in the run-up to the 2021 Assembly polls, which the TMC swept.
The Lok Sabha MP from Kolkata’s Diamond Harbour constituency, Abhishek, has also rolled out a number of programmes to reach out to the people in his own constituency. He launched the “Ek Daake Abhishek” helpline for them modelled on his aunt’s “Didi ke Bolo” initiative. During the Covid-19 pandemic wave early last year, Abhishek’s constituency bucked the trend, which was attributed to his proactive measures, labelled as “Diamond Harbour model”, although it also drew criticism from the party’s old guard.
After the TMC’s image took a severe beating when senior party leaders like Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondol were arrested in connection with various scams, Abhishek stepped out to announce a policy of “zero tolerance against corruption”. The TMC expelled Partha from the party.
In the run-up to the rural polls, Abhishek suspended or expelled the party’s many panchayat functionaries from across the state after getting complaints of corruption against them from local people.
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Abhishek is embarking on a two-month-long, state-wide “Jana Sanjog Yatra” from April 25, which will pass through villages covering a cluster of panchayats in all the districts, even as he will address hundreds of meetings and spend the nights in tents during his yatra.
In the course of his march, Abhishek will also undertake the “Gram Banglar Motamot (Opinion of rural Bengal)” campaign through which he will interact with villagers and take their feedback about the local candidates that the TMC should pick for the panchayat polls.
On the proposed “Gram Banglar Motamot”, Abhishek said, “In the Indian political scenario, when it comes to deciding candidates for elections across various levels, the decisions are taken behind closed doors through centralisation of power and are based on the recommendations of district and block leadership. For the first time in India, we have set out to take the opinion of the people on candidates for gram panchayats to ensure, in the truest sense, a people’s panchayat.”
Appreciating Abhishek’s moves, TMC leader Joyprakash Majumder said, “Society is moving forward. You have to keep up with that. Abhishek Banerjee is only doing that.”
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The Opposition BJP and CPI(M) however reject such claims. BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said, “People are now uninterested about TMC. So, whatever TMC will do, situation will not change.”
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “The whole thing that Abhishek Banerjee is doing is corporate-driven and is an eye-wash. If he has guts, then he should go to the people by foot.”
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