Kolkata: A rift between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and her Nephew Abhishek Banerjee has elicited West Bengal CM to hold a meeting of the party’s top leaders on Saturday.
The meet is being held to address simmering tensions over Abhishek Banerjee’s push to promote a ‘One Man, One Post’ policy in the party, resented by some of the party’s older guard, some of whom hold multiple posts within the ruling establishment.
But many see this as a reflection of increasing friction between Ms. Banerjee and her increasingly ambitious nephew, who is effectively the party’s second in command.
In this crossfire, I-PAC, the political consultancy group of Prashant Kishor, has been ignited. The group has been working with the Trinamool Congress since the West Bengal elections, with Abhishek Banerjee seen as the main liaison between the party and the savvy political consultants.
On Friday, an argument publicly erupted between Trinamool leader Chandrima Bhattacharya and I-PAC after she alleged that her social media accounts had been “misused” by Prashant Kishor’s team.
“A Twitter account in my name was created by I-PAC before the election. Today it posted something about ‘one person one post’ without my knowledge. I strongly protest against it,” Ms. Bhattacharya was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
On the counter, I-PAC said that they do not manage any digital properties belonging to any of the leaders. They said, “I-PAC doesn’t handle any digital properties of @AITCofficial or any of its leaders. Anyone making such a claim is either uninformed or is blatantly lying. AITC should look into if and how their digital properties and/or that of their leaders are being ‘allegedly (mis)used’.”
When on her way to Uttar Pradesh to help Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav’s campaign, she was asked about TMC’s Goa campaigning to which her reply created a big buzz. She said, “Somebody is doing, so I am not. I am going to other places… in greater interest.” The reply was a curious one and an even more curious thing was her reference to Abhishek Banerjee as “somebody”.
An internal squabble over the campaign came to a head last week when two competing lists of candidates for the upcoming civic polls came out of the party – prompting Mamata Banerjee to take a side and back the faction perceived as the old guard.
Sources close to I-PAC, however, claim there is no rift with the Chief Minister.
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