Kumar Bahukhandi
The Trinamool’s three tallest leaders – Mamata, Abhishek, Kalyan (File)
KOLKATA: In a rare display of restraint amid the ongoing turmoil in the TMC, party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Friday June 12 , 2026 sought to defuse tensions with senior MP Kalyan Banerjee, describing him as an elder who had “brought him up” politically and therefore had every right to criticise him.
The olive branch was swiftly reciprocated by the veteran Serampore MP, who welcomed Abhishek’s remarks, described him as being “like a son”, and stressed the need for all party leaders to remain united in the fight against the BJP.
The remarks marked an unexpected thaw less than 24 hours after Kalyan Banerjee launched an unprecedented attack on Abhishek, accusing him of arrogance, distancing himself from all legal matters involving the Diamond Harbour MP and even issuing what appeared to be an ultimatum to party supremo Mamata Banerjee to choose between her nephew and veterans like him.
“Kalyan Banerjee has seen me grow up. He is a senior leader of the party. He has every right to say a few harsh words to me. There is no reason to create unnecessary controversy over it,” Abhishek told reporters while leaving Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence after a meeting of the party’s top leadership.
Reacting to the remarks, Kalyan Banerjee told PTI, “I welcome his statement. He is just like my son. It is good that he has understood his mistake. All of us have to work and fight together against the BJP.”
The conciliation came at a time when the ruling party is grappling with the fallout of its crushing defeat in the recent West Bengal assembly elections and an increasingly visible churn within both its legislative and parliamentary wings.
Political observers viewed Abhishek’s response as an effort to prevent another internal dispute from escalating into a larger organisational crisis.
Earlier in the day, senior TMC leaders, including Abhishek, Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien, Madan Mitra, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh, attended a meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee at her residence to assess the political situation and discuss the way forward.
Conspicuous by his absence was Kalyan Banerjee.
Kalyan’s absence immediately fuelled speculation in political circles as it came a day after he publicly questioned Abhishek’s leadership style and announced that he would no longer appear in court cases linked to the Diamond Harbour MP.
A senior advocate and one of the party’s most combative parliamentarians, Kalyan Banerjee had on Thursday said that Abhishek’s “arrogance had crossed all limits” and indicated that he would reconsider his future in the party if the situation persisted.
The outburst stemmed from developments linked to the assembly signature forgery case, in which Kalyan Banerjee was expected to represent Abhishek at the Calcutta High Court before abruptly withdrawing himself.
While he did not publicly cite a specific reason for his withdrawal, Kalyan later complained about growing arrogance within sections of the party leadership and hinted at deeper organisational discontent.
His intervention acquired added significance because, unlike many of the leaders who revolted after the electoral debacle, Kalyan had until now remained among the staunchest defenders of the party leadership.
Even after stepping down as the TMC chief whip in the Lok Sabha last year, he had continued to defend the organisation’s line in Parliament and was recently reinstated to the post amid growing unrest within the parliamentary party.
For years, Kalyan Banerjee had functioned as one of the party’s most aggressive political and legal trouble-shooters, frequently taking on opposition leaders and defending the leadership during some of the TMC’s most difficult phases. His decision to openly target Abhishek, therefore, sent shockwaves through party ranks.
The controversy erupted against the backdrop of a broader rebellion within the party.
The assembly poll setback has triggered open dissent among a section of MLAs and MPs, many of whom have questioned Abhishek’s leadership and his growing influence over organisational affairs. What was once whispered in private conversations has increasingly spilt into the public domain, exposing fault lines that had long remained hidden beneath the party’s tightly controlled structure.
On Monday, a group of 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by party chief whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed to have written to Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate bloc supporting the BJP-led NDA, triggering an unprecedented split in the party’s parliamentary ranks.
The parliamentary revolt followed a dramatic upheaval in the West Bengal Assembly last week, where 58 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs broke ranks with the party leadership and backed expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition instead of the party’s official nominee, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay.
The twin rebellions plunged Mamata Banerjee’s outfit into what many observers described as its gravest organisational crisis since its formation in 1998, raising questions about authority, succession and the balance of power within the party.
Against this backdrop, the statements of Abhishek and Kalyan Banerjee offered the first sign of a possible effort at damage control by the leadership, even as the larger battle over the party’s future direction continues to simmer beneath the surface.
For now, the message from both leaders appeared clear: however bitter the differences, neither side wants to be seen as widening the cracks in a party already struggling to contain multiple centres of dissent after its worst electoral setback in decades.
(Source PTI)
