West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s one-time Singur and Nandigram heroes are now her betes noires.
Months after Suvendu Adhikari – Trinamool Congress’ Nandigram hero – quit the party post after an acrimonious fallout, Rabindranath Bhattacharjee, a retired headmaster instrumental in mobilising villagers against the Tata small car project and spearheading the anti-land acquisition movement in Singur, has followed suit. Bhattacharjee, too, joined the BJP, on Monday.
Bhattacharjee, the outgoing MLA from Singur, was denied a ticket by the Trinamool which miffed him further. Instead, a second faction headed by MLA Becharam Manna was preferred by Mamata Banerjee. Manna, incidentally, was the one who had threatened to quit the party if he was denied a ticket.
Known as “mastermoshai” (teacher), the 80-year-old Bhattacharjee enjoys a clean image in Bengal politics. His spartan lifestyle and humility saw him emerge as the “rallying force” during Mamata’s anti-land acquisition stir in Singur. Bhattacharjee, then in his late 60s, spearheaded all grass root activities in the region.
Factional feud in Singur has been a long-standing problem for the Trinamool. The divisions in the party saw BJP make inroads there in 2019, despite the host of sops Banerjee provided specific to Singur since coming to power in 2011. She even returned the acquired land with much fanfare.
The Singur and Nandigram anti-land acquisition movements catapulted Mamata Banerjee in both state and national level politics. She went on to bring down the then mighty and seemingly invincible Left Front regime in West Bengal.
“This is a party of family members now. The least said the better. I cannot stay here. I am joining the BJP but I’m not bargaining to be the candidate,” Bhattacharjee said after joining.
A section of BJP leaders believe that Bhattacharjee will help BJP make further in-roads in Singur. The octogenarian not just carries years of political experience, but has substantial “fan following”.
“Politically Rabindranath Bhattacharjee may not be a Suvendu or that significant. But, in terms of optics, it’s a huge setback for Trinamool. People who spearheaded Mamata’s flagship movements –Singur and Nandigram –’are now at odds with the party. One of them, Suvendu, is directly challenging her,” Bishwanath Charaborty, political analyst told BusinessLine .
Further setback
To make matters worse, another four outgoing MLAs, who have been denied tickets for 2021 Assembly polls, have also quit the party. These are: Sonali Guha, Dipendu Biswas (former footballer), Sital Sardar and Jatu Lahiri.
Of the four, Sonali Guha has been Mamata’s long-time aide and was “considered to be her shadow”. Guha had stuck-by Mamata’s side through each of her agitations.
The tally of MLAs switching to the saffron camp now stands at 23.
Meanwhile, Sarala Murmu, Trinamool’s candidate from Habibpur in Malda district, quit the party and joined BJP. The move, paved way for further defections in the region, and the saffron party gained control of the local Zilla Parishad, its first in the State.
“Grassroot level workers are joining BJP. Who will I work with in the region. There is no point in staying in a party that doesn’t listen to you or let you work. I don’t care if Im BJP’s candidate in Habibpur or not,” Murmu said.
Her resignation came today morning, minutes after which the Trinamool issued a statement claiming Murmu was not contesting because of “ill-health”.