New Delhi: Abhishek Banerjee could be heard everywhere in the weeks before the West Bengal Assembly election. The TMC honcho and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew just needed a microphone to scream his lungs out, openly challenging the BJP and Home Minister Amit Shah with calls of, “Come here, fight here, try your luck here.” He also promised several times to unleash his fury if BJP came to power.
But after the BJP swept the West Bengal Assembly elections, bagging 206 seats of the 294, his mic has gone silent. Abhishek, ‘lovingly’ known as bhaipo (meaning nephew in Bengali), has suddenly gone quiet, barring a few reposts on X and a subdued and silent appearance beside Mamata during her press conference today.
The day before results, bhaipo was still in full fighting form. In a speech, he took up cudgels over the Falta seat, which is set for a repoll on 21 May after allegations of EVM tampering at booths during the second phase of the elections on 29 April.
“If you have the courage, contest from Falta… I am telling all the big leaders sitting in Delhi—come and fight from here. Tell all the BJP’s godfathers to come and contest in Falta. Even in ten lifetimes, you won’t be able to defeat Trinamool in Falta,” he said.
He’d also hinted at fire and brimstone for BJP voters more than once. On 26 April, he claimed that he wasn’t as “generous” as his aunt Mamata.
“If you think you can abandon the sickle and hammer, and take up the lotus, and still campaign about CPI(M)’s underdevelopment and the dark days of terror to bring them back to Purba Bardhaman district, then on 4 May there will be Rabindra Sangeet playing along with a bit of DJ music in the villages. Be prepared. I am not as generous as Mamata Banerjee,” he had threatened.
Later, in Nandigram, he categorically spoke about ‘revenge’ and playing DJ music alongside it.
Then on 28 April, Abhishek was warning that whether TMC won or lost in Arambagh, the consequences would be different this year.
“We had lost Arambagh last time, too. We lost Goghat, we lost Khanakul, we lost Pursurah. But you got away because of our generosity. This time, I will be personally in charge. After 12 o’clock on the 4 May, I will see how much power each executioner really has and whose ‘father in Delhi’ comes to save whom,” he said.
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From ‘full volume to ‘airplane’ mode
There was a pattern to Abhishek Banerjee’s threats. First, the challenge: “Come if you have the guts.” Second, the assurance: “You won’t last.” And finally, the conclusion of the “inevitable defeat of the BJP.”
Then the results came. And, poof, he just went from ‘full volume’ to ‘airplane mode’ in a day.
The last time Abhishek was seen flexing was on 4 May, during the early trends, when the BJP was gaining pace and marching ahead of the TMC. His final warning was, “Let’s meet after 12 noon, then we will see.”
Well, that 12 noon never arrived. In Bengali, we say “barota beje gechey”, which means it’s past twelve — and past the point of no return for someone who has failed massively.
There may also be other good reasons to keep his volume down. Abhishek is no stranger to pressure from central agencies. The ED’s coal scam probe has dogged him for years, and the agency’s January raids on I-PAC, a political consultancy firm associated with the TMC, were another hint of what might be in store.
Sound and fury
The TMC workers on the ground are now in a fix. Didi is still crying injustice, calling the BJP’s win “immoral” and “illegal”, but their dada, who kept promising action if things turned this way, is not there to show them the way. They are getting riled up, but the promise of ‘bhaipo’s’ backing seems distant.
To be fair, campaign rhetoric everywhere tends to be inflated. Leaders across parties discover their inner Superman, Batman, or even Shaktimaan two months before voting day. But even going by that, Abhishek’s speeches were many decibels louder than the norm.
Which is why the sudden silence is now noticeable. It is noticeable because the curtain is falling on 15 years of TMC rule. It is noticeable because the end of the road is now visible. It is also familiar, bringing back memories of CPI(M)’s disappearance from Bengal.
Perhaps the speeches will return. Perhaps the challenges will resume, too. But for now, Bengal’s most enthusiastic challenger has stepped out of the arena.
And the crowd, so used to the noise, is left looking around for its beloved bhaipo and upcoming ‘dada’, wondering: ‘Was that a leader speaking all along, or just a very convincing performer?’
Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
He is not “lovingly” but derisively called bhaipo. Who the hell loves him