Having consolidated its position further in the bypolls after winning 29 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the parliamentary elections held earlier this year, the TMC leaders feel the time has come for the party to play a more “vociferous” role in Parliament during the winter session as well as go for the organisational reshuffle, planned by party number two Abhishek Banerjee.
“The national executive committee meeting on Monday at Mamata Banerjee’s residence will determine the further roadmap for the party. Mamata Banerjee will guide us regarding our role in both the winter session of Parliament as well as of the Assembly,” said a senior leader, expected to participate in the meeting.
Speaking to mediapersons on Sunday, TMC Lok Sabha member Kalyan Bandopadhyay said: “All the Opposition parties nationally should accept Mamata Banerjee as their leader. She should be the face of Opposition nationally. Some parties should set aside their ego and accept Mamata Banerjee as the leader of the Opposition against the BJP. Look at the by-election results,” Bandopadhyay said.
According to sources in the TMC, the first agenda to be discussed in Monday’s meeting will be the party’s stance on several issues, including Wakf Amendment Bill, in the winter session of Parliament set to begin from Monday.
The party leaders will also deliberate on how to deal with the issue in the upcoming Assembly session. “Mamata Banerjee will tell us the role we will play in Parliament,” said a senior member of the national executive committee.
“The bypoll results have shown that we are on the right path. As Abhishek Banerjee has said, there is a need for performance-based evaluation of party leaders. Certain organisational gaps and shortcomings need to be fulfilled. A list for reshuffle has been prepared by Abhishek Banerjee. Mamata Banerjee will have the final say in the issue. This will be part of our preparations for the 2026 Assembly polls in the state,” said another senior leader and a member of the national executive committee.
TMC leaders said the bypoll results reflected not only the “acceptability of Mamata Banerjee’s flagship programmes like Kanyashree and Lakshmir Bhandar but also a robust organisation at the grassroots level”.
Apart from a huge jump in the winning margin, almost doubling it in five of the six Assembly seats where bypolls were held, the party won from Madarihat for the first time. Also, the party was able to garner over 50% votes in all the six constituencies — Naihati (62.97%); Haroa (76.63%), Medinipur (53.44%), Taldangra (52.07%), Sitai (76.08)%, and Madarihat (54.05%).
In the Lok Sabha elections, the TMC had 45.76% vote share overall.
Also, the winning margin was doubled in the five seats. For instance, in the by- election in Sitai, TMC candidate Sangita Roy won by 13,01,56 votes. In the same Assembly segment during the Lok Sabha polls, TMC won with a margin of 29,000 votes. In 2021 Assembly polls, the TMC had a winning margin of 10112 votes.
“Sitai and Madarihat seats in North Bengal are considered a BJP stronghold. We have consolidated our position. Now, is the time for Mamata Banerjee to play another role nationally,” said a veteran TMC leader.
“Organisation is a two-way traffic. On one hand, we have effective leadership, strong organisation and policies which are people-friendly. On the other hand, the trust of Mamata Banerjee is intact in the minds of people,” said Jay Prakash Majumdar, TMC vice-president and spokesperson.
Abhishek Banerjee, TMC Leader in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Sougata Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, state unit president Subrata Bakshi, Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and other senior leaders are expected to be present in the Monday’s meeting.
However, TMC Rajya Sabha member Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, who was critical of the government the issue of RG Kar rape and murder, has not been invited to the meeting.
Speaking on the issue, Firhad Hakim, Mayor and State Urban Development Minister, said: “Party discipline comes first. I should not make any comments publicly against party discipline. One should not have made all statements public.”