Mamata rallies behind Abhishek amid rebellion, vows to rebuild TMC

Kolkata, Jul 15 (PTI) Throwing her weight behind nephew Abhishek Banerjee as rebel leaders blamed his alleged high-handedness for their exit from the TMC, party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday apologised to the people "on behalf of the traitors" and asserted that neither she nor her family had ever compromised for political survival. Striking a defiant note, Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of using central agencies and police to engineer defections, declared that she was prepared to rebuild the TMC from scratch if necessary, and alleged her opponents wanted her dead. "They wanted me to suffer a heart attack. But I will live till I see your end," she said. In what was her strongest public endorsement yet of Abhishek Banerjee since the split in the TMC, Mamata Banerjee rejected allegations that his leadership style had fuelled the rebellion, insisting instead that he had become the principal target of political attacks because he had refused to "compromise". "Abhishek Banerjee has been turned into an excuse. His family members were summoned. Had he wanted, he could have got relief. But he did not run away from the battlefield. The way he has continued to fight, all his flaws have been forgiven. He is fighting like a tiger," she said during a Facebook Live interaction. Her emphatic defence of her nephew came hours after senior MLA Madan Mitra deserted the Mamata Banerjee camp to join the rebel faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, becoming the latest senior face to blame Abhishek Banerjee's alleged high-handedness for quitting the party. Mitra had said he left after his demand that Abhishek Banerjee "step aside for six months" was rejected. Rejecting that charge outright, Mamata Banerjee linked Mitra's exit to an Enforcement Directorate summons issued to his wife and two sons on Tuesday. "The person who left today had yesterday informed us that he and his family had received a summons. We understood then that he might switch camps. Abhishek has nothing to do with his decision," she said. Without naming the BJP directly, Mamata Banerjee alleged that central agencies had become instruments for dismantling the opposition. "The BJP is using police to break the TMC. They are using fear and threats to dismantle municipal boards," she alleged. She claimed leaders facing investigations were choosing "political convenience over conviction" and entering the BJP's "washing machine". "Those who have a setting are joining the BJP's washing machine. Those MLAs and MPs who have joined the 'setting company' have done so because they are afraid," she said. Launching a sharp attack on defectors, Mamata Banerjee struck an emotional note. "I apologise before the people on behalf of the traitors. I have not sold my bibek (conscience) for political survival. Had I compromised, we would not have faced so much torture," she said. Seeking to project resilience despite the exodus, the former chief minister invoked one of the lowest phases in the TMC's history. "No one can stop me. If I could start afresh after 2004, then I can start again after 2026," she said, recalling the period when the party recovered from electoral reverses before eventually capturing power in West Bengal. She also asserted that she had never shied away from public struggles, referring to her hunger strike against land acquisition in Singur and her visits to sites of major tragedies, from Kamduni to the RG Kar hospital case. The TMC chief also expressed solidarity with climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, saying she had spoken to him during his ongoing fast. Wednesday's remarks marked Mamata Banerjee's clearest attempt yet to politically insulate Abhishek Banerjee as a growing number of rebels have sought to make his leadership style the central issue behind the split. The intervention also underlined that the succession question inside the party is no longer being left ambiguous, with Mamata Banerjee choosing to publicly stand by her nephew even as senior leaders continue to walk out, citing his growing influence. The TMC chief's remarks came as the party faces its gravest organisational crisis since its formation in 1998, with rival camps now operating parallel structures under Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee. The rebellion has largely been fuelled by opposition to Abhishek Banerjee's expanding authority within the organisation following the party's electoral setbacks and his emergence as Mamata Banerjee's undisputed political heir. The rupture has steadily widened over the past few weeks. The Ritabrata camp has already convened what it described as a special organisational session, elected senior MLA Arup Roy as its chairperson, announced a parallel organisational structure after removing Mamata from the post, and secured the backing of a majority of the party's legislators in the battle over the post of Leader of the Opposition. The party split has also extended to Parliament, where 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs have broken away, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the BJP-led NDA. With the battle now centred as much on leadership as on organisational control, Mamata Banerjee's unequivocal endorsement of Abhishek Banerjee signalled that there would be no retreat on succession despite the rebellion. As the rival camps prepare to hold separate July 21 Martyrs' Day programmes for the first time in the party's history, the fight for the TMC has decisively shifted from dissent to an open contest over its future. PTI PNT MNB