Mamata Faces Political Turbulence in West Bengal
Mamata Banerjee, who 28 years ago made rebellion her political weapon by breaking away from the Congress to build the TMC, is now facing political turbulence in her own party. Mamata, during her long political journey, has faced many revolts. It has now become a game of football in West Bengal, the symbol allotted to her faction for the by-elections.
Assigning the ‘football player’ symbol to the Mamata-led faction represents a major visual advantage rooted in West Bengal’s social culture.
The Mamata faction feels that since West Bengal has a strong association with football, the symbol would deeply and directly connect with the electorate, while the envelope symbol of the breakaway faction may not have the same connection with voters. It also aligns with her slogan, ‘Khela Hobe’ (the game is on).
However, the game of football seems to be turning interesting. While the official candidate of Mamata-led TMC, Sanchita Dey Pradhan, withdrew her nomination from the Nandigram Assembly by-election in East Midnapore district on Friday afternoon after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Mamata decided to support the Congress candidate, Milan Pradhan, in Nandigram.
She said, “We will not contest in Nandigram. We will support our sister party, Congress. This will strengthen the INDIA bloc.”
On the other hand, the CM remarked that the TMC was facing the curse of Lord Sri Ram and reminded her that ‘karma’ hits back.
She added that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had called her on Thursday night, after which she decided to support the Congress. “We are all together; we will fight together. We will support all normal alliances. We will support our sister parties,” she added.
However, she is yet to decide whether or not to support her sister party in the Rejinagar Assembly constituency in Murshidabad district.
This is the first time Mamata Banerjee has publicly expressed support for a Congress candidate in Nandigram after coming to power in 2011.