'Trinamool's Condition Just Like Falta': Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari's Swipe At Opposition Party

Tarakeswar: Taking aim at the leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that their political clout and influence had been greatly reduced due to their present organisational state and compared it to Falta.

Adhikari was responding to a low turnout of elected officials in the protest sit-in organised by the TMC chief Mamata Banerjee at Dharmatala's "Y-Channel" in Kolkata. This demonstration was held in protest against violence that followed the election results and the recruitment of TMC members by rival parties.

During a press conference at the Tarakeswar protest rally, Adhikari fired a pointed shot regarding the low turnout at the rally location. "What an abysmal situation! Only three MPs and six MLAs attended," Adhikari remarked.

"The condition of the party is now similar to Falta itself," he joked. Political analysts felt that poor turnout at the rally location demonstrated that there was a deep divide within the TMC after its recent election defeat. While the party claims that it has 78 MLAs in its ranks, only about 15 members of Parliament (MPs and MLAs combined) showed up to support the TMC leader in her fight.

Some of those who did attend the rally included veteran political leaders like Nayana Banerjee, Madan Mitra, Firhad Hakim, Biman Banerjee, Ashok Deb, and Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay among MLAs, along with MPs like Derek O'Brien, Samirul Islam, Dola Sen, Mala Roy, and Kalyan Banerjee.

Adhikari also lashed out at the desperate measures taken by the general secretary of TMC's All India branch, Abhishek Banerjee, in his attempt to prevent internal dissidence. In response to news of Abhishek Banerjee making numerous phone calls even while unwell to convince the MLAs not to leave, Adhikari stated humorously, "I heard that he is ill. He was put on a saline drip. Is it possible to make so many phone calls even if one is ill?" An indication of the internal conflict facing the TMC came last Sunday, when an urgent meeting for the victorious MLAs at Mamata Banerjee's house in Kalighat had to be called off because fewer than 20 legislators showed up.

Despite Mamata Banerjee's assurance that her party was not defeated because it lost the election but due to a conspiracy, political observers believe the events have revealed the dire situation within the TMC, as some very prominent members have turned their backs on it.

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