Coming from an extremely middle-class family in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee, the three-time chief minister of West Bengal, built her political career based on her image of honesty, a streetfighter, and pro-people leadership. The purported School Service Commission (SSC) recruiting scam and the involvement of large sums of money have reached a point of no return for the administration, known as the government for “Ma-Mati-Manush” (Mother-Soil-People).
The images of the recovery of over Rs 50 crore in cash at the houses of an alleged close friend of Partha Chatterjee have shaken the conscience of the people of Bengal and India as well. Chatterjee was one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest confidants and was fired from his cabinet and party positions on Thursday. With hourly developments, in this case, it is clear that this money trail, scam and the alleged involvement of Banerjee’s right-hand man are all set to change the politics of Bengal and Mamata Banerjee forever.
The School Service Commission scam has been around for several months. However, a number of things changed on 23 July, following Partha Chatterjee’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). According to the ED, while conducting an investigation at Chatterjee’s residence, they discovered papers mentioning the name Arpita Mukherjee. The ED also found that there could be financial transactions between the two. Immediately, the central agency held a raid at Mukherjee’s residence and found over Rs 20 crore in cash and jewellery. The ED arrested both Chatterjee and Mukherjee. On Wednesday, the ED also recovered another mountain of cash of around Rs 28 crore from another residence of Mukherjee.
What Does This Scam Tell About TMC?
The popular belief has been that Mamata Banerjee runs the entire show of the Trinamool Congress. But this incident has tarnished not only her image but also raised several question marks over her control of the party. Partha Chatterjee was not only the second most important cabinet minister in Bengal, but also the secretary general of the TMC. Chatterjee was with Mamata Banerjee from the inception of the party and held several important positions, like the leader of the Opposition during the Left’s rule.
Trinamool insiders opined that since the inception of the party, the most trusted lieutenant of Mamata Banerjee had been Mukul Roy. However, with the rise of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee inside the party, Roy felt disenchanted and left the TMC to join the BJP. However, after the grand victory of Banerjee in the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections, Roy returned to the TMC again. The party insiders also believe that after Roy left the TMC, Mamata Banerjee became heavily dependent on Suvendu Adhikari for organisational management. However, before the 2021 Assembly elections, Adhikari left the TMC to join the BJP. This was a game-changing moment for Partha Chatterjee. He became the undisputed No.2 in both the TMC and the Mamata Banerjee government. The party insiders believe that despite the presence of Abhishek, as the secretary general, Chatterjee remained immensely powerful and unquestioned.
Is Mamata Not In Total Control Of TMC?
After the recent developments, several top TMC leaders came out disobeying the party line set by Banerjee on the issue of removing Chatterjee from the cabinet and party posts. The situation forced TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to hold an emergency meeting and remove Chatterjee from all the party posts. Mamata Banerjee also removed him from her cabinet.
It is, however, an extremely unlikely precedent in the TMC because no leader in the party dares violate the supremo’s stand publicly. This has made one thing clear: now there are two power centres in the TMC. One is of Mamata Banerjee and the other one is of her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. It has also become clear that Abhishek is clearly protecting the new-age leaders close to him who have been questioning the non-removal of Chatterjee.
How Political Narrative Of TMC Can Change
This is indeed a new era of politics inside the TMC. Now there are leaders, and even a group of leaders, who have the audacity to question and oppose the stand of Mamata Banerjee but also get protection from the top leadership.
This is not the first allegation of corruption against the leaders of the TMC. Mamata‘s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, is himself under the radar of the central agencies for an alleged coal scam. After the 2021 Bengal Assembly elections, the CBI arrested cabinet minister and mayor of Kolkata, Firhad Hakim, MLA Madan Mitra, and cabinet minister the late Subrata Mukherjee. Anubrata Mandal, TMC District president of Birbhum, is also under the radar of the CBI and ED.
Earlier, the CBI arrested TMC MP Sudip Mukherjee, who is now the party‘s Lok Sabha leader. In all these cases, Mamata Banerjee stood strong against these leaders and blamed the central agencies for hatching conspiracies against the party. But in this case, both Mamata and the TMC have distanced themselves from this scam. This shows that the strategy of Mamata Banerjee has changed. It also shows that the fight against the central agencies alleging harassment is no longer the priority of the party.
Why It Is A Golden Opportunity For BJP In Bengal
The recent developments regarding the SSC scam could also change the politics of the BJP in Bengal. During the 2021 Assembly elections, the BJP suffered from the lack of Bengal-centric issues. It has been difficult for the BJP to combat the welfare schemes of Mamata Banerjee, through which the TMC government has been providing financial support to every section of the people. But the scam has burst the bubbles.
It is a big opportunity for the BJP to hit the streets against the incumbent government on the issue of corruption. This is also a game-changing moment for Bengal Assembly leader of Opposition and BJP leader Subhendu Adhikari. He is the only leader in the BJP who has been raising allegations of corruption from Day 1 because, originally, he was with the TMC. A section of the Bengal BJP leaders believes that this is an extremely important opportunity for the party to allow Adhikari to lead the team. If this happens, then in the Bengal BJP unit, the traditional leaders or the old guards will be sidelined and a new-age leadership under Adhikari will emerge.
It is important to know that Adhikari is not only a product of the TMC but also a non-RSS person. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated leaders have traditionally held prominent leadership positions in the Bengal BJP. Former Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh, who led the party during the 2019 and 2021 elections, is a hardcore RSS man. Similarly, Sukanta Majumdar, the current Bengal BJP chief, has also been deeply associated with the RSS. If this change happens, then the politics of the BJP in Bengal will also change its regular course.
How This Scam Brings Back Focus On The Left
Last but not least is the reflection on the politics of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Left-Front government that had ruled Bengal for 35 years was shattered with the rise of Mamata Banerjee. The Left has not only lost elections after elections but also has become zero in terms of Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. This scam and its aftermath could be a game-changing event for the CPI-M as well.
The entire scam came to light due to the persuasion of the CPI-M. The party not only stood beside the aspirants who claimed to be cheated by the state government through these alleged scams, but also moved the Calcutta High Court against these alleged irregularities. It is the CPI-M Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya who fought these cases in the Calcutta High Court and brought the CBI probe. This is why the CPI-M has an edge in this situation and can build its politics around it in the coming days.
Nothing is easy in politics. What will happen in the political future of Bengal is unknown to everyone. But this scam, no doubt, has changed the political narrative in the state. The scam has not only rocked the public’s conscience but also jeopardised Bengal’s reputation.
The author is an independent journalist and columnist based in Kolkata and a former policy research fellow at the Delhi Assembly Research Centre. He tweets as @sayantan_gh. Views expressed are entirely personal.
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