Angry Mamata Banerjee Strips Nephew Abhishek Of ‘Crown Prince’ Title—Full Story Here

Trinamool Congress chairperson and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has divested her earlier ‘heir apparent’, Abhishek Banerjee, of the ‘crown prince’ title. 

According to party seniors, Mamata Banerjee has made it abundantly clear to her nephew that he can no longer assume to be her successor. 

Banerjee reportedly conveyed this message to her nephew a couple of weeks ago and told him he would have to prove his worth to the rank and file of the party, including party seniors, in order to win their trust and regain acceptance as their leader. 

The Trinamool chief also told her nephew that he would have to bide his time and work for the organisation. He also cannot demand any position (a ministerial berth) in the government. 

Mamata Banerjee has reportedly made it clear to her nephew that making a person a minister is solely her prerogative and while no one can demand to be made a minister, applying pressure will not only not work, but may also boomerang.  

This stern message was reportedly delivered to Abhishek Banerjee by his aunt recently after he displayed some subtle and not-so-subtle defiance over the past few months.

Mamata Banerjee did not take very kindly to her nephew’s actions and utterances but gave him a long rope. She had issued mild warnings to him, but he did not pay any heed to those and continued to act defiantly.

What got Mamata Banerjee’s goat were reports that a couple of close confidants of Abhishek Banerjee had established contact with some top BJP functionaries outside Bengal.

According to some senior Trinamool Congress leaders, who spoke to Swarajya on strict conditions of anonymity, Mamata Banerjee received reports of a couple of close aides of her nephew establishing contacts with BJP seniors in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

“The reason given out by the aides (of Abhishek) was that they were scouting for some business deals on their own and had got in touch with some businessmen who also happened to be BJP netas. They maintained that Abhishek was not in the know because he had no interest in their businesses. But Mamata Banerjee was not convinced. She smelt a rat and sent word to him through family members that she was displeased,” a senior Trinamool leader who is also a Lok Sabha MP told Swarajya.

The build-up of tensions between Mamata and her nephew

Abhishek, the ‘national’ general secretary of the party, has been holding the post since June 2021. He became the president of the Trinamool Youth Congress in 2011 soon after joining active politics at the age of 24 and has carried out other organisational responsibilities. 

Abhishek won the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat for the first time in 2014 by a huge margin and had, at that time, become the youngest member of Parliament. He won the seat in 2019 as well as 2024 by huge margins.

Ever since joining active politics and becoming the president of the Trinamool Youth Congress, Abhishek was deemed to be the chosen successor of Mamata Banerjee. She showered him with a lot of attention and promoted him over many others. Her actions favouring Abhishek reinforced the belief that he was the ‘heir apparent’ and the ‘crown prince’ in the party. 

Abhishek took his party responsibilities seriously and worked very hard for the party. He campaigned extensively during elections and became a popular figure, especially among the youth. 

He was also feted as a good parliamentarian because of his sober and serious interjections in the Lok Sabha. Abhishek won praise even from his political opponents for his work as a member of the standing committee of commerce, consultative committee under Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs, the Railway Convention Committee, and Standing Committee of External Affairs. 

Abhishek came to be looked upon as a youth icon in Bengal and distinctly different from the Trinamool old guard who were perceived to be involved in various scams. Abhishek appealed to the middle class, especially in the urban areas, as well as the youth. 

It was natural for a large number of young members of the party to gravitate towards Abhishek and become his loyalists. Not only did they start looking up to him as their supreme leader and icon, but they also started demanding posts and greater organisational responsibilities for themselves. 

By the middle of 2023, a generational clash surfaced in the Trinamool Congress. Party old-timers, many of them septuagenarians and octogenarians, resisted and pushed back against the growing assertiveness of the younger lot in the party. 

“The old-timers felt that the younger lot who had joined the party after it started gaining strength in Bengal from the end of the first decade of this century or after it came to power in the state (in 2011) did not shed their blood and sweat for the party in its earlier days as they had. Hence, the younger lot were not entitled to the posts and responsibilities they were demanding. The old timers dug in their heels and murmurs of disgruntlement grew very strong within the party,” another Lok Sabha MP told Swarajya. 

Abhishek Banerjee added fuel to the simmering fire in the party’s rank and file by advocating an age limit for politicians. In December 2023, he said that productivity declines with age, and thus there should be an age limit for politicians holding organisational and ministerial posts. 

This triggered angry reactions from Trinamool seniors who viewed the statement as an affront to them. But they did not counter Abhishek Banerjee publicly out of deference to his status as the ‘crown prince’ of the party and their wariness of incurring Mamata Banerjee’s displeasure. 

But some of them, like Saugata Roy (79), Sovandeb Chattopadhyay (81) and Sudip Bandopadhyay (76) took the issue up with Mamata Banerjee. They conveyed their deep sense of hurt at attempts to sideline them and ease them out. 

They also told Mamata Banerjee that Abhishek Banerjee’s statement advocating an age limit for politicians had emboldened many among the younger lot to defy the old-timers and even disrespect them. 

The party veterans pointed out to the Trinamool chief that they had been with her through thick and thin since the formation of the party and had faced a lot of trials and tribulations. 

Mamata Banerjee decided to side with them and upbraided Abhishek Banerjee, though privately, for talking about issues which should not be his concern. 

“Our party chairperson made it very clear to Abhishek that he should not speak on such sensitive issues. She told him that the veterans had sacrificed a lot and had been with her since her early days in politics. The veterans have to be respected and it is up to her to decide who should retire and when,” said a senior party leader who is also a cabinet minister. 

Mamata Banerjee also told Abhishek to stop making public statements and work silently for the party organisation. She gave him specific organisational responsibilities and asked him to concentrate on the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.  

She told him that he, and the younger lot in the party, have to respect party seniors and take guidance from them. 

Abhishek’s restlessness and angst

A suitably chastened Abhishek opted to lie low and keep quiet. He went about working for the party in a quiet and subdued manner. 

But it was apparent to many in the party that he was restless and angry, even though he tried his best to mask his feelings. 

“He (Abhishek) withdrew into a shell and started paying more attention to his business. He, however, ensured that he did not neglect his party responsibilities and carried them out diligently. He gave no room for anyone to complain, but it was obvious that he was unhappy,” said a senior Trinamool Youth Congress functionary who is close to Abhishek Banerjee. 

Another Trinamool Congress MLA from South Bengal who is close to Abhishek Banerjee told Swarajya that he (Abhishek) thinks the party has not been fair to him. 

“That feeling is justified. He has already proven his worth to the party and has worked tirelessly for the party for so many years. He has adequately proved his organisational acumen and has emerged as a leader in his own right who is popular among the youth, the urban middle classes and also the poor,” the Trinamool MLA said. 

“It is, thus, natural for Abhishek to expect a ministerial post. He runs a business successfully and has a management degree from a reputable institution. He is, thus, eminently qualified to be given a major responsibility in the government,” the legislator added. 

But Mamata Banerjee has stonewalled all suggestions made by many Trinamool leaders, including even a couple of seniors, to induct her nephew into the state cabinet. 

She has persistently said that Abhishek will be given a responsibility in the government “when the time is ripe”. 

Abhishek, on his part, cannot understand why his aunt has kept him away from the government that she runs. 

He knows that talk about his induction into the cabinet triggering resentment among senior cabinet ministers is all hogwash because no one has the guts to question Mamatas’s decisions and actions. 

“Our party chairperson has inducted rank outsiders—artistes like Indranil Sen—and even defectors from other parties (Babul Supriyo) into her council of ministers. There weren’t even murmurs of protest. Many others from outside the party have been awarded other posts in the government. No one has ever questioned those acts. So we don’t accept the contention that Abhishek’s induction into the cabinet would have set off resentment among senior leaders,” said another MLA from South Bengal who is also close to Abhishek. 

That’s why Abhishek and his camp feel that Mamata Banerjee has been making lame excuses for keeping Abhishek away from the cabinet. 

Many suspect that Mamata Banerjee feels that Abhishek will become more popular once he becomes a minister and will emerge as an alternative centre of power. He will then soon become a powerful challenger to his aunt. 

“We feel Abhishek will be a very efficient minister who will produce results. He is sure to outshine all other ministers who are inefficient, lack the drive and lack the will or ability to take initiative. He will, thus, become very popular,” said the South Bengal MLA who had been ticked off a few months ago for advocating Abhishek’s induction into the cabinet. 

Some Trinamool old-timers say this could be a correct assessment. “Mamata is supremely egoistical and will never want anyone to become very popular. She wants everyone to stay subservient to her. She knows that Abhishek can emerge as another centre of power and can eventually challenge her someday. Hence, she doesn’t want to make Abhishek a minister,” said a senior Trinamool functionary who had a fallout with Mamata Banerjee a few years ago and has been sidelined. 

“Abhishek definitely helped a lot in the election campaign and a lot of the credit for the party increasing its tally from 22 (in 2019) to 29 and for bringing down the BJP’s score from 18 (in 2019) to 12 goes to him,” said the MLA who is close to him. 

“However, even after that, his contribution has not been acknowledged. He should have been made the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha or at least the chief whip. But he was ignored. He has not even been given the status of the party’s star speaker in the Lok Sabha,” said the MLA. 

This—Abhishek Banerjee not being given any major role in the parliamentary party—is a major sore point. 

People close to Abhishek feel that this has been done deliberately to keep him away from gaining prominence at the national level.

“Mamata Banerjee wants to hog all the limelight at the national level and so she has given prominent posts to people who are sycophants and will never pose any sort of threat to her. She is wary that Abhishek will outshine her eventually and she will have to cede ground to him,” said the sidelined former Trinamool functionary.

How matters came to a head

The August 9 RG Kar rape-murder that shocked and shamed Bengal and triggered widespread protests throughout the state was the turning point. 

Like everyone else, Abhishek too was shocked and outraged. He felt that the party should leave aside its political compulsions and stand with the victim’s family while respecting the sentiments of the indignant people of the state.

Abhishek, it is learnt, had a conversation with his aunt and urged her to take immediate action against people like Dr Sandip Ghosh (the tainted principal of the medical college) who was, in the eyes of the public, guilty of destroying evidence, shielding the guilty, and obfuscating the probe into the heinous crime.  

Mamata Banerjee listened to him but also asked him to mind his own business. She told him she would handle the crisis her way like she had handled many other crises in the past. 

Abhishek was, effectively, snubbed. He stayed silent but sullen. But he could not stay mum when a large crowd of ruffians stormed the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in the early hours of August 15 and attacked junior doctors who were protesting the shocking rape-murder of their colleague. 

The attack played out on live TV, adding to the public outrage. Abhishek called up the Kolkata Police Commissioner and told him to take immediate action against the attackers.

That was the first time that Abhishek had interfered directly in state government affairs. He had, never before, issued instructions directly to any state government officer. 

Mamata Banerjee wasn’t amused. She saw Abhishek’s act as an overreach and an immature act. She pulled him up once again for interfering in affairs that were not his concern. 

It is learnt that the chief minister reminded her nephew that he is not part of the government and, hence, has no authority to speak or issue instructions to any government official. 

A sullen Abhishek refused to come to the defence of the party and government when it was getting a lot of flak over the RG Kar rape-murder mess. He declined to participate in rallies and padayatras by his aunt demanding quick action against the guilty. 

People close to him, like former Rajya Sabha member Santanu Sen, lashed out at a coterie of physicians close to the top leadership of the party and demanded action against them. 

Abhishek is learnt to have told people close to him that holding rallies and roadshows would not go down well with the people because it was the government which was, in public perception, guilty of shielding the culprits. 

A couple of enthusiastic supporters of Abhishek, prime among them the Bharatpur MLA and former cabinet minister Humayun Kabir, made matters worse by demanding that Abhishek be given a ministerial berth. 

Kabir suggested that Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the Home portfolio, is “overburdened” and should share responsibilities with her nephew. He suggested that Abhishek should be made the Deputy Chief Minister and be given the Home portfolio.

Kabir’s namesake, former IPS officer and Debra MLA (Humayun Kabir) joined in the chorus and said that Abhishek would make a good home minister and would have been able to handle the RG Kar mess efficiently. 

Other supporters of Abhishek also made similar statements at party fora and in private. Mamata Banerjee felt that Abhishek was encouraging them.

So she asked her senior colleagues, urban development minister Firhad Hakim among them, to counter the demand for Abhishek’s induction into the cabinet. 

Hakim and some other party veterans publicly snubbed the Bharatpur and Debra MLAs, asking them to contest elections without taking Mamata Banerjee’s name. Hakim & Co said that Mamata Banerjee was the only and supreme leader of the party and her word alone is relevant both in the party and the government. 

Abhishek, once again, kept silent. But he delivered another googly in November last year when he suggested that performance, and not loyalty, should be rewarded in the party. Speaking to reporters, he said he told his aunt that those with a proven track record, and not just loyalists, should be rewarded with important party posts. 

Abhishek told reporters after meeting his supporters who had gone to his residence to greet him on his birthday (November 7) that he had recommended a thorough reshuffle in the party organisation to his aunt. 

“Awarding posts should be based on performance, not loyalty. CPI(M) is the biggest example of what can happen to a party if it focuses solely on loyalty,” he said. 

That was viewed as a direct and blunt criticism of his aunt who is known to place a premium on loyalty over ability and performance. 

In late January, Mamata Banerjee came to know about two close aides of her nephew meeting some senior BJP leaders in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. 

Simultaneously, strong rumours started doing the rounds that Abhishek was planning to leave the Trinamool and float his own party with the covert backing of the BJP. 

That came as the proverbial last straw for Mamata Banerjee. She summoned Abhishek and asked him about the veracity of reports that he has sent feelers to the BJP and is planning to leave the Trinamool. 

Abhishek vehemently denied the rumours and tried to assure his aunt that he would always be loyal to her. 

Mamata Banerjee, however, was reportedly not fully convinced, She told Abhishek that he should not assume that he is her heir. According to a minister close to Mamata Banerjee, she reportedly told him: “You are not the yuvaraj and cannot assume that you are my heir”. 

Mamata Banerjee also told Abhishek that she would be the sole arbiter of his fate and she would decide what responsibilities to give him and when. He cannot demand any post and if he has any problem with that, he can decide his own destiny. 

“As long as you are in the Trinamool, you will have to adhere to party discipline and follow what the leadership says,” Mamata reportedly told her nephew. 

She also told him that his actions and words had hurt party seniors and harmed the image of the party. “You will have to regain the trust and respect of many within the party who are upset with you,” she told him. 

Mamata Banerjee also told Abhishek that he should send out a strong message to all his ‘followers’ to fall in line and not indulge in factionalism or play petty politics. 

Abhishek was advised by some party seniors to make a public assertion of his loyalty to Mamata Banerjee. He did that at a party meeting on February 27 when he declared: “Even if you slit my throat, only ‘Mamata Banerjee zindabad' will come out from me”. 

This assertion was an unusual one. Under normal circumstances, Abhishek would not have to publicly declare his allegiance to his own paternal aunt. But the fact that he did so proved that his ties with his aunt are now testy. 

"I am not a beimaan (traitor). Rumours are being spread about me forming a new party. They are completely baseless,” he declared at the party meeting last month. 

The look on Mamata Banerjee’s face, when her nephew was making these voluble assertions, was telling: she looked up from some papers she was reading, glanced at her nephew with a scowl, and then looked away with a faint grimace.

It is apparent that she has not only divested her nephew of the ‘yuvaraj’ title, but she has also put him on probation. Abhishek will be under strict watch and will have to work his way back to her favours. 

Political observers say an angry and sullen Abhishek will not remain quiet for very long. It is only a matter of time before he delivers another bouncer and triggers more turmoil in the party. 

Also read: Differences And Cold Vibes Between Mamata Banerjee And Nephew Abhishek Stoke Divide In Trinamool Ranks