Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has been in power in West Bengal for 15 consecutive years, is in trouble after its defeat in the elections. The situation has become such that Mamata’s party, formed in 1998, is today facing its biggest existential crisis. After the BJP’s crushing defeat in the assembly elections, the party is now facing its first major open rebellion. In times of crisis, there is a section in the party which is maintaining silence while some people are openly claiming to be with Mamata.
While Mamata’s party is facing one deep crisis after another in TMC, one of its most talked about part seems strangely silent and that is the ‘Tollywood Brigade’ adorned with film stars. Since the formation of the party, Mamata strongly trusted the personalities associated with the world of cinema, television and sports and continuously kept the electoral and public image of the party shining among these people.
After May 4, many maintained silence
Only three years after the formation of the party, in the 2001 assembly elections, TMC had fielded veteran actress Madhabi Mukherjee from Jadavpur seat against the then Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader Buddhadev Bhattacharya. Along with her fire brand image, Mamta continued to advance her politics with these glamorous faces. They benefited from this. A large number of actors, directors, singers and sportspersons were fielded in the elections and most of them also became MPs and MLAs.
Leaders doing pure politics were also upset about Mamata’s soft attitude towards these stars but they never complained openly, but now this ‘Tollywood Brigade’ is keeping silence after the party’s election defeat on May 4. Even after the rebellion in the party under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee, this brigade seems to be calm. There is also speculation in the political circles that many of its members have either adopted a cloak of silence or have started reconsidering their loyalty towards the party.
Dominance of Tollywood brigade in TMC
TMC’s Tollywood brigade (West Bengal’s film industry) includes big names like Shatabdi Roy, Tapas Paul, Dev and Mimi Chakraborty. Apart from these, some other film stars like Deepak Adhikari (known as Dev), Nusrat Jahan, Rachna Banerjee, Sayantika Banerjee, Sayani Ghosh, Soham Chakraborty, Hiran Chatterjee, June Malia, Kanchan Mallik, Kaushani Mukherjee and director Raj Chakraborty were also part of the party.
The party included big artists from the art world like Shatabdi Roy, Moon Moon Sen, Sandhya Roy, Indranil Sen, Videsh Bose, Jogen Choudhary and late Tapas Paul. While big national personalities like Bollywood singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo, cricketers Yusuf Pathan, Kirti Azad and Manoj Tiwari, and diplomat-writer Pawan Verma were also included.
Silence of active MP Sayani
Many TMC celebrities are known for their outspokenness and activism. Among these, MP Sayani Ghosh is the most popular name. She joined the party in 2021. Sayani, who has outspoken opinions, has also maintained complete silence on the issue of rebellion.
After the election results, he was seen at a meeting in Kalighat, where he publicly expressed his allegiance to the party. However, in the last few days, he has not been seen in any meeting or protest program called by Mamata. The situation is not clear regarding his current stand on the new situation.
Kalyan Banerjee seen with Mamta
Senior MP Kalyan has been with Mamata Banerjee since the beginning. He has been seen participating in Mamata’s protest and giving speeches. Even after forming a new faction in the party, Kalyan raised questions on its legal validity and talked about adopting the legal route. Like Kalyan, former MP Derek O’Brien has also been with Mamata from the beginning. From the Kalighat meeting to Mamata’s dharna programme, his presence has been seen everywhere.
Mahua Moitra was not seen much after the elections
Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra has not been seen in public since the election results. However, recently he expressed his opinion about the new group on social media. Strongly supporting Mamata, he said, “Those who are doing this cannot call themselves real Trinamool.”
Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s rebellious attitude
Since the announcement of the results, the woman MP from Barasat has maintained a rebellious attitude. He has resigned from all his posts in TMC and has publicly expressed his displeasure with the party. She also attended the meeting called by CM Shubhendu Adhikari.
Sudip Banerjee seen standing with Mamata
Lok Sabha MP and one of the senior most leaders of Trinamool, Sudip Banerjee has also not said anything special so far. However, his wife and party MLA from Chowringhee Naina Banerjee remains consistent with Mamata. He was seen sitting right next to Mamta at the protest site.
Rebellious attitude of former MP Ritabrata Banerjee
तृणमूल के पूर्व सांसद ऋतब्रत बनर्जी अब विपक्ष के नेता बनने की कोशिश में लगे हैं. He, along with 58 other MLAs, has submitted a letter to the Assembly Speaker, in which he has described himself as the “real” Trinamool.
Dola Sen seen on stage with Mamta
Dola Sen, Mamta’s longtime ally, has also not left Mamta. She was present at the protest site. Even after the defeat, she continued to appear in almost all Mamata’s programs.
Chandrima Bhattacharya standing together even after defeat
Former state minister and lawyer by profession, Chandrima Bhattacharya has always played an important role in the Mamata government and has also handled important departments like health and finance. Despite losing from Dumdum seat, she has been attending all Mamata’s programs. He was also seen sitting right next to Mamta on the stage of the protest.
Bratya Basu was not seen much after the elections
Bratya Basu was the Education Minister during the Trinamool government. While being a minister, he was often surrounded by controversies. He was often seen talking to the media on behalf of the party on any issue. However, after the defeat, he is neither seen in public nor heard talking to the media. His current stand is also not clear.
Actor Dev Adhikari congratulated BJP
Similarly, after the election results were announced, actor Dev Adhikari congratulated BJP for its landslide victory on May 6, while at the same time top TMC leaders were loudly alleging election theft. Mamta Banerjee had announced that she would not resign from the post of Chief Minister. Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee, who has not officially joined the party, has been campaigning heavily for TMC candidates. He too is silent on this issue.
Babul Supriyo seen together in crisis
However, singer-turned-politician Babul Supriyo openly claimed to stand with Mamata during the crisis. Rajya Sabha MP Babul Supriyo expressed his support for the party chief. He said that he would stand by them “even if not in good times, but in bad times”. He strongly defended Mamata through two long posts on Facebook. He said that whatever be the situation, he will remain with Didi. Babul was earlier in BJP and later joined TMC.
But when there is an open rebellion against the dominance of Mamata-Abhishek Banerjee under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee, who joined the party from CPM, then these veteran stars, whose political career and victory came due to the support of Mamata, are keeping distance from this new matter. The situation has become such that some of these people have even started distancing themselves from the party.
Who will stand with Mamta next?
On May 5, the very next day after the election results, cricketer-turned-politician Manoj Tiwari announced to leave TMC. He had defeated BJP’s Papiya Adhikari in the elections. Along with his resignation, he also made a scathing attack on outgoing Sports Minister Arup Biswas. Now it has to be seen who stands with Mamata as time passes and who seeks a new destination by adopting the path of rebellion against her.
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