Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, the champion of the new guard in the raging nouveau versus vieux debate in Bengal’s ruling dispensation, on Sunday ruled out a rift with the old, led by his aunt and party supremo Mamata Banerjee, pledging to diligently carry out any task assigned to him to ensure a triumph in the Lok Sabha polls.
However, the 36-year-old Diamond Harbour MP refused to budge from his stand on an age ceiling in active politics, which 69-year-old Mamata does not agree with.
“Many people said there are differences between the new and the old in the party. But I am telling you the party is united, under the supreme leadership of Mamata Banerjee. There is no place for conflict in Trinamul,” said Abhishek at a party meeting in Pailan of South 24-Parganas, under his Lok Sabha seat.
“I have duly fulfilled every responsibility assigned to me by the party in the past, and will do so in the future…. Mamata Banerjee is giving the party inspiring leadership and I will continue to stand beside her with everything I have, as a loyal soldier… till the day I die,” he added.
His statement came six days after a meeting with Mamata amid the increasing disquiet over the damage caused to the party before the polls by prolonging the new-versus-old debate.
On New Year's Day, also Trinamul's foundation day, the meeting between Mamata and Abhishek followed a dramatic exchange of fire between Trinamul’s usually reticent state president Subrata Bakshi, deemed a representative of the so-called old guard, and the party’s voluble state general secretary Kunal Ghosh, believed to be Abhishek’s mouthpiece.
Multiple sources said that both Mamata and Abhishek agreed on the fact that the party must move on immediately, together, to pull out all stops for the general election.
“It’s a good thing that Abhishek played his part in putting this to rest, for now,” said a senior leader. “He again championed the cause of age ceiling, but it will not occupy centrestage for the next few months at least,” he said.
Abhishek, however, said: “Yes, it is true that I said physical abilities diminish with the advancement of age.”
“I remained in the streets for over two months for Nabo Jowar, but it would not have been possible for me if I were 70. You cannot possibly disagree with this. I won’t be able to perform things at the age of 56, which I can do at age 36,” he added.
Abhishek said a 25-year-old party worker would find it physically easier to carry out a taxing task on the ground than a septuagenarian, and he saw no harm in accepting this truth.
“This does not create scope for conflict, disagreements, civil war… none of it.... there is no scope for sensationalisation,” he said.
He added: “Saying this (about the age ceiling) does not mean I will not do any work for the party…. I have done everything the party asked of me in the past… and will do so again."