Suspended TMC leader Riju Dutta has heaped praise on newly appointed West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari — crediting him for “saving the lives of at least 5,000 Trinamool Congress workers”. The former TMC spokesperson has been vocal in his criticism of the party and levelled significant accusations following its defeat in the recent polls. He also released a video message apologising to Adhikari and other BJP leaders for “abusive” remarks made in the past.
“Suvendu Adhikari has been the Chief Minister for only two days, but within these two days, he saved the lives of at least 5,000 Trinamool Congress workers. His PA was shot on 6th May. If Suvendu Adhikari had said that revenge would be taken in Bengal. That night, 5,000 Trinamool workers would have been killed in Bengal,” Dutta claimed.
He repeatedly lauded the newly appointed CM for ensuring law and order in the state and outlined three reasons why the party had lost Bengal. Dutta asked for TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee to “take responsibility for the sabotage of this party” during an interview with news agency ANI. He also claimed that I-PAC was “running” the party, threatening its members, and earning from the party,
‘I-PAC controlling TMC, Mamata kept in the dark’: Suspended leader
I-PAC or Indian Political Action Committee is a political advocacy group and consultancy that works with various parties in India. The TMC began working with the organisation in 2019 (it was led by Prashant Kishor at the time) to overhaul its strategy. The partnership continued following the 2021 victory — but recent upheaval within the party has triggered questions bout TMC reliance on I-PAC.
“The first thing is that the people of Bengal have voted against Trinamool. There is no doubt in this. Secondly, I accept that TMC got 41% votes and the difference in votes between BJP and TMC is just 32 lakhs. There are three major reasons for TMC to lose; the first reason is I-PAC. I-PAC has been running the party for the last 6 months,” Dutta told ANI.
He claimed that the consultancy had been sending TMC leaders messages “to abuse Suvendu Adhikari and his father” and sought bribes. Dutta added that both Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee were “being kept in the dark” — insisting that they should make efforts to take back control of the party.
“I went to meet Pratik Jain, and after leaving his office, a person named Arjun told me that if you want to contest the elections, you will have to pay Rs 50 lakhs. Because of fear, I did not even inform anyone at the party…you can’t challenge I-PAC because it is only running the party. It kept Didi in the dark in this manner. I don’t know why Abhishek Da didn’t know this? This destroyed the party… Didi and Abhishek Da will have to take responsibility for the sabotage of this party by I-PAC,” he alleged.
Cracks within the TMC?
Mamata Banerjee has closed ranks amid visible dissent in the party — suspending multiple leaders and leaving members of the Abhishek Banerjee camp out of Assembly appointments. The TMC suspended spokespersons Kohinoor Majumdar, Riju Dutta and Kartik Ghosh last week for allegedly violating party discipline. Show-cause notices were also sent to Krishnendu Chowdhury and Papiya Ghosh, seeking explanations within 24 hours.
Members of the Abhishek camp were also conspicuous in their absence from key roles in the West Bengal Assembly. The newly formed leadership team primarily includes seen as being close to chairperson Mamata Banerjee. The TMC ha appointed Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as deputy leaders of Opposition, and Kolkata Mayor Firad Hakim as the Chief Whip. But while the statement bore the signature of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, all four are close to his aunt.
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