If the reaction of the Trinamool Congress cadre to last month’s accident that sent member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee to hospital for about two weeks last month is any indication, the West Bengal chief minister’s nephew is cementing his position as the second-in-command in the party.
Banerjee was returning to Kolkata from Berhampore on October 18 when his vehicle met with an accident near Singur, injuring him and 10 policemen accompanying him. The car was badly mangled. Banerjee was taken to a nursing home in Kolkata where a 14-member medical board was formed to monitor his treatment. He had a small fracture below his left eye that was operated upon in a simple surgery.
Outside the hospital
Over the next two weeks, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who said she did not rule out “sabotage and conspiracy” with regard to the accident, visited her nephew in hospital, as did hordes of party workers carrying bouquets of flowers and placards with get-well-soon messages.
As more and more party delegations began to visit the nursing home, the police had to make arrangements to restrict them to one spot. A register began to be maintained about those in attendance. This soon turned competitive with party supporters attempting to display their allegiance to Banerjee by organising yagnas and pujas. Elsewhere in the state, the party’s student units were engaged in making get well soon placards. Abhishek Banerjee heads the party’s youth wing.
A senior Trinamool Congress minister said that the brother of a West Bengal cabinet minister had sent out instructions to the party’s youth units across the state to respond to Banerjee’s hospitalisation adequately, implying that the response was orchestrated to convey how important Banerjee was to the Trinamool Congress.
Party insiders said that the fact that President Pranab Mukherjee, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and even the Nepalese Prime Minister called to enquire about Banerjee’s condition was indicative of the status of the young leader.
The rise of Abhishek Banerjee
“[The accident] has come to catapult a fledgling youth front leader into a full-fledged mass leader ready to take control of the party organisation,” said a Trinamool Congress functionary who is close to the younger Banerjee. “He silenced those within the party who were trying to undermine his potential. The message had been driven loud and clear that he is only next to Mamata Banerjee in the party.”
Though Mamata Banerjee has been grooming Banerjee for politics all these years, she has been careful not to be seen as letting him have it easy. Till now, her support to her nephew has been covert. She unofficially designated party leaders – Partha Chatterjee, Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee, Subrata Bakshi and Derek O’ Brien – to create a protective ring around him. The chief minister also often reminded her nephew that “no one is born as a leader. One has to become a leader through long and hard struggle for the people”.
But Mamata Banerjee has also given the youth leader increasing responsibility. Early in the run up to the Assembly polls that were held earlier this year, the Trinamool Congress chief put her nephew in charge of several districts like Nadia, Murshidabad, Purulia North and South 24 Parganas to oversee the party organisation. During the nomination stage too, the junior Banerjee intervened at many places where the party’s candidate selection had caused anger and discord.
Following the elections, which returned the Trinamool Congress to power, Abhishek Banerjee had, along with Suvendu Adhikari, been focusing on Murshidabad and Malda where the Trinamool Congress is seeking to dislodge the Congress.
Driver’s negligence?
Police personnel who did not want to be identified said that Abhishek Banerjee was returning from Berhampore after attending a party meeting and was on the Durgapur Express Highway when his car, which was following a pilot vehicle, attempted to negotiate past a milk van that was being pulled by a breakdown van. His car rammed into the van instead, and fell into a ditch by the roadside.
In the car behind Banerjee’s was Manash Bhuniya – a new entrant to the Trinamool Congress from the Congress. Bhuniya and others immediately took Banerjee to Belle Vue nursing home in Kolkata.
Following the chief minister’s comments about sabotage, the Hooghly district police registered a case of “attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy” against unknown persons. The Criminal Investigation Department eventually took over the investigation. The chief minister’s most trusted police officers in Kolkata also initiated a simultaneous investigation by the Special Task Force. Forensic teams examined the mangled car – glass shreds, blood stains and other evidence – to see if there was any indication of the accident being anything other than one. But forensics officers indicated that they found nothing out of the ordinary. Additionally, the police said that the accident may have been caused due to negligence.