By Tirthankar Mitra
KOLKATA:A tug-of-war between Trinamool Congress and Congress to observe July 21 as Martyr’s Day is an annual event in the political calendar of West Bengal. But what used to be an unequal contest between two political outfits has been joined by another political entity this year.
A breakaway group of Trinamool Congress led by Ritabrata Banerjee who is the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly has staked its claim to observe the Martyr’s Day. He claims to have the support of 65 MLAs who have switched loyalities out of the 80 legislators elected as Trinamool nominees.
July 21, a signature political event for TMC post founding the party on January 1,1998 may witness an unprecedented situation in state politics. For the rest of the Trinamool legislators owing allegiance to Mamata Banerjee have also staked their claim to observe the day.
Fishing in troubled waters, state Congress has also thrown its hat in the ring. Since it was Congress activists who died in police firing on that day, July 21, 1993, the best claim to observe it lies with us, state Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar said.
It may be mentioned, all the three claimants have an eye on reaping the maximum political mileage from the event. The trio is sorely in need of credibility.
The faction with Ritabrata Banerjee is looked upon by many as a B-team of the ruling BJP government. The one owing allegiance to Mamata Banerjee lacks the numbers; so does Congress which has only two MLAs in a House of 294 members.
July 21 marks the day when 14 activists part of a large group led by Mamata Banerjee who was then in Congress fell to police bullets during a march to Writers’ Buildings, then the state secretariat. The state Congress was then a fissured body with Banerjee on an agitation mode against CPI(M)-led Left Front government while the other faction led by the then state chief Somen Mitra seeking a more sedate line of action.
As things stand now, both factions of Trinamool Congress, the one led by first time MLA Ritabrata and another by former chief minister, Mamata Banerjee have sought police permission to hold the rally. Both seek an identical venue- the junction of Chittaranjan Avenue and Bentinck Street near Victoria House, the head quarters of a power utility company in the heart of the city.
The TMC’s Martyr’s Day is an annual traffic stopper in the city. Life in the business district of the city goes haywire for the day and normalcy returns only after the dismantling of the huge podium.
Every year, since formation of TMC, every activist tries his/ her best to attend the event. For the party leadership, it is an occasion to reach out and reassure itself of the continued support of the rank and file. The convenience of this venue lies in it being far easier to fill up having much lesser space than Brigade Parade Ground, the rolling green field under army jurisdiction. Major political rallies like celebration of poll victories are usually held.
Both the factions have a commonality of reasons for claiming to observe the day. It is going to be a test to gauge the people’s support for the two recently separated groups. Civic elections in Kolkata and several other nearby municipal bodies are scheduled to be held later this year. The size and enthusiasm of the rallyists will be the twin determinants of the campaign plans to be chalked out. But police permission is to be given to only one political party. And the faction owing allegiance to Mamata Banerjee is not much hopeful of securing this official nod in this matter, Trinamool sources stated.
Krishnanagar MP, Mahua Moitra said that if necessary Mamata Banerjee will address the crowds standing atop a jeep. It is not the venue which her words underscore but the crowds who wait all the year to hear the words of their leader. Moitra felt that the breakaway group lack popular support base of its own. Sans the support of Mamata Banerjee, they cannot win a single election, she added.
It is this contention. which Ritabrata Banerjee faction seeks to dispel. To underscore the breakaway group of Trinamool Congress having a wider support base, drawing a huge crowd on July 21, is an essential pre-condition for it. Having parted company with Mamata Banerjee -led party, the Ritabrata faction has not taken up a new name or symbol. A large crowd will cement it’s claim to both.
But it can only happen once it demonstrates enjoying greater popularity than the faction led by Mamata Banerjee. Indeed it would be one of the major planks supporting its claim to party name of All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) and it’s symbol of grass and two flowers (ghash o joraphul)
Raghunathganj MLA, Akrurjaman, a close confidante of Ritabrata Banerjee claiming the breakaway group to be the real TMC said that the proceedings of the meeting will be a pointer to its authenticity. Unlike previous occasions the family members of the martyrs will be honoured.
Earlier they did not get the attention they deserved, he said. For they were lost in the medley of celebrities on stage, he said taking a dig at the fondness of Mamata Banerjee for film actors and singers.
In so many words, the chief whip of Trinamool Congress Legislature Party was seeking to focus on the connect between the breakaway Trinamool leadership with the masses. In the same breath, the man who has been a Trinamool MLA for years was highlighting how his erstwhile leadership had made itself redundant having created a huge gap with the masses.
Aiming to steal TMC’s thunder, the state Congress has plans to observe the July 21 Martyr’s Day at the foot of Shahid Minar on the maidan. This is the first time since formation of TMC that Congress has ventured to observe this day out of it’s party headquarters, Bidhan Bhavan.
The Congress will raise the demand to release “the Manish Gupta file” in a bid to embarrass, the Trinamool faction led by Mamata Banerjee. Gupta, the state home secretary who gave the firing order on Congress activists on July 21 became a minister in Mamata Banerjee’s Cabinet
The Congress’s move makes what ought to have been a tug- of -war into a three -cornered grapple. Its end result will demonstrate the extent of public support behind each of the trisected section of an already fragmented Opposition. (IPA Service)
