Kolkata: For years, the Trinamool Congress’ Shahid Diwas July 21 rally served as a grand annual showcase of political power — packed with lakhs of supporters, high-profile defections from rival camps and declarations of future battle plans by party supremo Mamata Banerjee.
This year, however, the rally appears set to acquire a different purpose: proving that the organisation still stands intact despite an unprecedented rebellion that has hollowed out the party’s ranks.
Facing the biggest crisis in its 28-year history after losing power in West Bengal and witnessing a mass exodus of MPs, MLAs and senior leaders to the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, the Mamata-Abhishek Banerjee faction has unveiled a new political message ahead of the annual Martyrs’ Day gathering.
The slogan is simple and direct: “Amra Beiman Noi” (We are not traitors).
The message was prominently projected at a preparatory meeting organised by North Kolkata district president Kunal Ghosh on Thursday, where Mamata Banerjee addressed party workers over the phone and urged loyalists to remain united.
“Those who still have good sense should return. Those who have left are neither here nor there. We cannot sell the party for money,” she said.
‘Even if only five workers remain with us, we will go to Dharmatala’
In a remark that underscored the challenges confronting the party, Banerjee added: “Even if only five workers remain with us, we will go to Dharmatala on July 21.”
Political observers said the comment reflected a stark contrast with the July 21 rallies of the past, which often resembled political carnivals.
The annual event, held in memory of the 13 Youth Congress activists killed in police firing during a protest in Kolkata in 1993, gradually evolved into the TMC’s biggest political showpiece since its inception in 1998 after breaking away from Congress.
Announcements of future strategies, celebrity appearances, cultural programmes, massive crowds ferried in by buses and trains, and induction of leaders from rival parties became recurring features of the event.
Ironically, party insiders admit, the very politics of defections that once strengthened the Trinamool have now returned to haunt it.
“The challenge before us is different this time. The focus is on those workers and leaders who stood by the party during difficult times but perhaps never received the recognition they deserved,” Ghosh told party workers.
This year will be aimed at reassuring grassroots workers
Sources in the Mamata camp said this year’s mobilisation exercise is aimed less at attracting fresh faces and more at reassuring grassroots workers shaken by the organisational collapse that followed the assembly election defeat.
A senior leader close to the party leadership said the rally would send a message that “commitment matters more than positions”.
“There are thousands of workers who stayed despite intimidation, despite losing power and despite offers from other camps. They are the backbone of the organisation. This July 21 is for them,” the leader said.
The rebel camp, however, dismissed the exercise as an attempt to mask a deeper crisis.
Rebel camp claims exodus was due to leadership failure
A senior leader aligned with Ritabrata Banerjee said the exodus from the party was not a question of loyalty but of leadership failure.
“When MPs, MLAs, district leaders and grassroots workers leave in such large numbers, the problem cannot be explained away by calling everyone a traitor. The leadership is refusing to accept the verdict of its own workers,” he said.
Ritabrata Banerjee echoed the sentiment.
“The issue is not betrayal. The issue is that a handful of people monopolised the party for years and ignored genuine workers. Today, those workers are seeking an alternative political future. Labelling them traitors will not solve the crisis,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee, however, has continued to attack dissidents, alleging that many of them switched sides to protect personal interests after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.
“Workers fought and got them elected. Today, they are joining hands with those they fought against. Those who betrayed the party cannot be forgiven,” she said in her address.
Rally organised amid legal scrutiny
The preparations for this year’s rally are also unfolding amid legal scrutiny over the proposed Dharmatala gathering, with the Calcutta High Court recently directing notices to Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee in connection with a PIL linked to an alleged violation of court directives during a 2018 programme at the venue.
Yet for the Mamata camp, political observers say, the larger battle is organisational rather than legal.
With the party split, its symbol under challenge and many former loyalists now in the rival camp, July 21 is no longer merely a commemorative event or a platform for political messaging.
For a leadership struggling to hold together what remains of the organisation, the annual Martyrs’ Day rally is increasingly becoming a public test of loyalty, relevance and survival.
As one senior TMC leader put it, “Earlier, the question was how many new people would join us on July 21. This year, the question is how many are still willing to stay.”
