Empty Chairs At Kalighat: Day After Attack On Abhishek Banerjee, 60 TMC MLAs Give Mamata’s Meeting A Miss

New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered a significant internal setback yesterday when a scheduled meeting of newly elected legislators, which was to be chaired by party supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was abruptly canceled on Sunday.

The proceedings were abandoned after only 20 of the 80 summoned MLAs arrived at Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence in the wake of the recent attack on Mamata Banerjee's nephew and party's general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur and a separate alleged assault on party MP Kalyan Banerjee in Hooghly district.

The meeting had been scheduled to take place at Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence in Kolkata at 3 pm.

The unexpectedly low turnout, with nearly 75% of legislators missing, drew immediate attention. The Trinamool Congress, however, downplayed the incident, explaining that the majority of MLAs were occupied with organizing local protests against the authorities in response to the recent political violence involving attacks on Abhishek and Kalyan Banerjee.

What Kunal Ghosh said

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh explained that many legislators were unable to attend the meeting due to unfolding events on the ground, specifically following the attack on Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday and the reported assault on party MP Kalyan Banerjee the following day.

"The Trinamool Congress legislature party meeting was scheduled. Yesterday, our All India General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee was attacked. After that, a lot of MLAs and leaders held a protest rally in many areas. Our senior MP Kalyan Banerjee was also attacked today... The police are detaining people from the protests... We are postponing the meeting for now...The All India Trinamool Congress is giving a call to its workers that a protest will be held in all the wards and blocks against the attack on Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee and other party workers on 1 June. On 2 June, Mamata Banerjee will hold a protest meeting on Rani Rashmoni Road," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

What message does it give?

As per reports, the Trinamool legislative party agreed to what Kunal Ghosh termed a "legitimate request" and resolved to postpone the meeting. He added that the party would announce a new date for the meeting in due course.

Notably, the MLAs' absence from what has historically been the unofficial center of power in Bengal serves as a pointed and unmistakable political message. 

While the party faces what could be its most severe crisis, leadership may find some comfort in the presence of prominent figures such as Firhad Hakim, Nayana Bandopadhyay, Madan Mitra, Ashima Patra, and Kunal Ghosh, all of whom signaled their continued loyalty to Mamata Banerjee, as per reports.

How controversy unfolded

This fresh setback for the Trinamool Congress occurred just hours after party MP Kalyan Banerjee suffered a head injury in Hooghly's Chanditala, following the mob assault on second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee the previous day. 

Meanwhile, the party has instructed its leaders to hold protest rallies across rural blocks and urban municipal wards on Monday. 

Additionally, it was announced that Mamata Banerjee will lead a day-long symbolic sit-in on Tuesday at Rani Rashmoni Road in central Kolkata to protest against alleged post-poll violence and the use of bulldozers for hawker evictions.

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