Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra has defended party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee against allegations of nepotism. While he initially benefited from his family connection to the party president Mamata Banerjee has since succeeded in establishing himself through years of political and organizational work, Mahua told Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview.
The Lok Sabha MP admitted this Abhishek, the nephew of former Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee, got his first Lok Sabha ticket in 2014 because of that connection but over the past 12 years he has worked hard to justify his place in the party.
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“Did Abhishek Banerjee get that first ticket in 2014 because he was Mamata Banerjee’s nephew? Yes, he did. But has he been elected three times since then, been the national general secretary of our party and done organizational work for the party, traversed the state, built an organisation? Yes, he did it. He has been there for 12 years. He has paid his dues,” Mahua told HT.
Her statements come at a time when The Transitional Military Council is facing one of the biggest internal challenges in its history, with a series of resignations and defections by senior leaders. Many of them cited dissatisfaction with the party’s performance and Abhishek’s growing influence.
“He is much younger than me. I have accepted him as national general secretary,” Mahua said.
“I could have been a rebel…”: Mahua Moitra
Mahwa also compared those from within the party who are now criticizing Abhishek with former TMC leader Suvendu Adhikari, who is now the chief minister of West Bengal. She noted that Adhikari publicly opposed Abhishek’s growing role in the party and, based on these differences, left the TMC to join the BJP in 2020.
“I could have been rebellious and done what Suvendu did,” Moitra said. “Suvendu said I want to be the next person in command. As long as Abhishek is there, I will not get that position. Hence, I will part ways. I will go to the BJP. There is a certain amount of clean and transparent way to do it,” she told HT, adding that she respects his decision as he has taken a political stand openly.
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Questioning the actions of the current dissenters, Moitra wondered why the leaders who had objected to Abhishek Banerjee’s role had not left the party earlier and contested the elections under another banner.
“If any of these 60 MLAs had an issue with Abhishek, why didn’t they leave the party before the 2026 elections, join the BJP and win a BJP ticket?” She said.
Watch the full interview here:
The transitional military council crisis
The comments come as the TMC faces an exodus of leaders and lawmakers. Many prominent figures, including Rajya Sabha members Sukhendu Sekhar Rai and Sushmita Dev and Prakash Shek Barak recently resigned from the party. A group of rebel legislators also challenged the party leadership within the West Bengal Assembly.
Many rebels accused the party leadership of disconnecting from the labor base and criticized what they described as the centralization of decision-making around Abhishek Banerjee. Some senior leaders claimed that experienced party figures had been sidelined.
