Abhishek Banerjee’s Feedback Over Negative Public Perception Of Party Worries Trinamool Leadership

Trinamool’s ‘crown prince’ Abhishek Banerjee, who is now on his two-month-long tour of Bengal to rejuvenate the party, does not have very good news to convey to his paternal aunt — Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The ‘naba jowar’ (new tide) outreach that Abhishek launched from Cooch Behar in North Bengal on 25 April has helped the Trinamool supremo’s nephew see a stark reality: that his party’s image has taken a severe beating of late. 

Abhishek has been interacting very closely with not only ground-level functionaries of his party, but also the masses. And what he has gathered from his interactions is not music to his aunt’s ears. 

The Trinamool Congress, Abhishek has learnt, is widely perceived to be a corrupt party with a huge number of its leaders and functionaries being involved in large scale corruption, especially in siphoning off government funds meant for public welfare schemes and projects. 

The multiple probes launched by central agencies — the CBI, ED and the IT Department — in the cattle smuggling, illegal coal mining, chit fund and school recruitment scams and the arrest of many Trinamool leaders and functionaries for their involvement in these scams has caused immeasurable damage to the party’s image and reputation. 

Abhishek Banerjee has also learnt first-hand that the rural masses, especially the poor, are very angry over the suspension of work on many central-funded schemes and projects like the MGNREGA, the PMAY and the PMGSY. Work has stopped because of non-disbursal of funds from the Union Government. 

But, much to the Trinamool’s chagrin, the masses aren’t buying the party’s propaganda that the Union government is not disbursing funds out of vengeance. 

The Trinamool, especially its top leadership, has been trying to sell the narrative that the Union government is not disbursing funds for many schemes and projects wholly or partially funded by the Centre because it discriminates against Bengal.

Mamata Banerjee and her nephew have been alleging repeatedly at public meetings that the Union Government is “unhappy with the people of Bengal for their rejection of the BJP” (in the 2021 assembly polls) and, thus, is “punishing Bengal” for that. 

But people in the rural areas have been witnessing first-hand the loot of central funds meant for these projects by Trinamool leaders and functionaries. They have seen how Trinamool leaders have amassed huge wealth and assets, and how they (the Trinamool leaders) have illegally cornered benefits from many centrally-funded projects like the PMAY. 

Hence, the Trinamool’s allegations that the Union government is deliberately withholding funds to Bengal has not found many takers among the masses. Instead, they (the masses) know that it is because of largescale corruption and anomalies in implementation of these schemes and projects that have resulted in the Union government not disbursing funds. 

Far from buying the Trinamool’s false narrative, the masses, especially the rural poor, blame the Trinamool for the punitive action taken by the Union government. 

Abhishek Banerjee has also discovered that the many doles that have been handed out by the Mamata Banerjee government have not really helped the party. 

“People actually do not want doles. They want jobs, good governance and a clean and transparent administration, and an end to corruption that has unfortunately become endemic to Bengal,” said a former Trinamool leader who has retired from active politics. 

He said people are angry because corruption by Trinamool functionaries affects them directly. “People have to shell out bribes for everything, and that angers them. That anger cannot be contained by handing out meagre doles,” said this former Trinamool leader who was an MLA and also a minister. 

Abhishek Banerjee has become aware of this anger among the people and the negative perception about his party among the masses. 

What has also not helped is the chaos and malpractices that have allegedly surrounded Abhishek’s bid to get the people to choose candidates to be fielded by the Trinamool in the panchayat polls slated a couple of months from now. 

Abhishek Banerjee had declared that rather than the party deciding on candidates to be fielded on Trinamool tickets in the panchayat polls, the people will be given a chance to name a candidate of their choice for the party. 

He invited people to name their preferences through secret ballot at the venues of meetings he has been addressing. But this entire exercise has been chaotic and many Trinamool functionaries have been rigging the process. 

This, admit Trinamool seniors, has been giving the party a very bad name. “People are saying that even Abhishek Banerjee cannot ensure fair play and transparency within the party and he has not been able to rein in the corrupt and bullies using strong-arm tactics within his party,” admitted a Trinamool MLA from North Bengal. 

Abhishek has been providing detailed feedback to his aunt, and that has triggered grave consternation in the Trinamool’s top leadership. 

That is why Mamata Banerjee decided to lend her name to her nephew’s ‘naba jowar’ outreach when she went to Malda on Thursday (4 May) for an administrative meeting. It was no coincidence that her meeting coincided with her nephew’s naba jowar yatra reaching Malda the same day.

Mamata Banerjee knows that she is her party’s final trump card and given the deeply negative perception that the Trinamool now suffers from, she can only hope that her close personal involvement in her nephew’s mass outreach programme can limit the debilitating damage that her party has suffered. 

Trinamool seniors say that from now on, Mamata Banerjee will devote a lot of attention to the mass outreach programme and address many rallies individually or jointly with her nephew. 

Whether that helps or not will become clear in a couple of months’ time.