- Mamata Banerjee urged INDIA bloc unity against BJP.
- She strongly condemned TMC party rebels as "traitors."
- TMC faces severe internal crisis with leaders defecting.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday appealed to opposition parties, including the Congress and the CPI(M), in West Bengal to bury their differences and unite against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking at the party's annual July 21 Martyrs' Day rally near Kolkata's Birla Planetarium, Banerjee also launched a sharp attack on rebel leaders, calling them "traitors" and asserting that they would never be welcomed back into the party.
"I want everyone to unite under the banner of the INDIA alliance in Bengal to fight the BJP. I don't have any ego. I urge others also to keep aside their differences and fight together," Mamata Banerjee said during her address.
No Place For Traitors In TMC
Without naming the Congress or the CPI(M), Banerjee's remarks were widely seen as an appeal to TMC's INDIA bloc allies in the state, despite the long-standing political rivalry between the parties in West Bengal. Targeting leaders who have quit the TMC, she accused them of working at the BJP's behest and challenged them to formally join the saffron party.
"If you want to support the BJP, go to the BJP. The more of you who leave, the happier I will be. My students and youth workers are there to fill every vacancy. Those thieves have gone to the BJP. I will never take them back," she said. Banerjee, in her statement to the rebel leaders, said, "I challenge the traitors to directly join the BJP and fight elections."
Rival Camp Holds Parallel Rally
While Mamata Banerjee addressed the rally for her supporters at the official Martyrs’ Day programme, Ritabrata Banerjee, the leader of the faction, held a separate demonstration on Mayo Road in central Kolkata, thereby underscoring the escalating divide within the TMC.
The Trinamool chief claimed that the rival faction, supported by the BJP, had tried to stake claim on the party's "twin flowers" symbol. But their attempt had failed because she continues to be the founder president of the Trinamool.
Additionally, she has said that she would be travelling to different districts of West Bengal over the next few days. She challenged her political opponents to try and stop her. "After this, I will travel across the districts. I want to see who has the power to stop me," she said.
BJP Accused Of Disrupting Rally
The TMC supremo alleged that the BJP was attempting to disrupt Martyrs' Day celebrations, and said TMC workers had to remain at the venue guarding it all through the night.
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TMC Faces Major Internal Crisis
The Trinamool Congress is facing one of its most severe organisational crises ever since the party was floated in 1998. As senior leaders, MLAS and even the Lok Sabha members have deserted the party and joined the rival camp headed by Ritabrata Banerjee.
Several of these defectors are said to have pointed to the growing power of Abhishek Banerjee in the party as one of the reasons for their quitting. The internal power struggle, with the TMC now having two parallel organisational setups, is said to be one of the biggest challenges that the party will have to overcome before the upcoming elections.