A Synthesiser for Mamata

The fiery Mamata Banerjee, obsessed with throwing out "fascist CPM" from Bengal, loves her spartan lifestyle
Rakhi Chakrabarty Delhi

Mamata Banerjee doesn't seem to like the colour red. She doesn't wear red-coloured clothes and avoids red chillies. A close aide of the Trinamool Congress chief says, "Even if she spots red chillies in the kitchen, she refuses to eat whatever is being cooked." She doesn't drink laal cha (red tea), prepared by brewing tea leaves. She insists on adding milk to tea so that the red of the brew disappears.

There is some symbolism in this. After all, the communists in West Bengal, whose party colour is red, are her sworn enemies. Has she internalised her obsessive political animosity?

She owes her rise in politics to her rabid opposition to the Left Front. Or, to be precise, the CPM. But, Banerjee doesn't mind admitting that she respects the Left ideology. She also doesn't mind welcoming various Left Front (LF) constituents like the RSP or the Forward Bloc to her camp. That would break up the LF and send the CPM to the wilderness of politics, she hopes. Her common refrain: "They are fascists. They have finished Bengal."

Her public meetings are rarely complete without her reiterating, "I will not rest until I have thrown the CPM out of Bengal." Even in private, she spews venom at the CPM.

Mamata Banerjee was initiated into politics by Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee. Banerjee was then a student of Ashutosh College in south Kolkata. Mukherjee was then a firebrand leader of the Congress in Kolkata. Also, he was the guiding force of Chhatra Parishad, Congress' students' wing. Banerjee as a student was drafted into politics by Mukherjee.

Many in political circles called her, "Subratada's comrade". He was instrumental in getting her a Congress ticket for the 1984 Lok Sabha election. That was the first election she contested and won, defeating none other than Somnath Chatterjee, then a CPM candidate. She lost elections only once to CPM's Malini Bhattacharya in 1989.

Banerjee overtook her political guru but continued with his brand of fiery, populist politics with a penchant for playing to the gallery. Political observers say Banerjee's brand of politics is self-limiting because it is based on blind opposition to the CPM.
Banerjee couldn't be bothered. She follows the course she has charted for herself. Either you follow her, or leave. "She doesn't tolerate opposition to her views or diktats," says a senior Trinamool leader.

In 1998, Banerjee split with the Congress calling it the "B-team of the CPM" and formed her own party with the sole agenda to oust the CPM. Thus, Trinamool Congress was born. Among those who opposed her in the Congress was Pranab Mukherjee. Interestingly, after so many years, she struck an electoral alliance with her parent party on her own terms in the Lok Sabha polls. The result was phenomenal. It shook the foundation of the Left's 32-year rule in Bengal.

Trinamool is practically a one-woman party. For the rest of the leaders, it is a game of snake and ladder. "Nobody knows when he or she will fall out of Didi's favour. So, all of us try to keep her in good humour," confides a leader. "She will never allow anybody to share the limelight. If she wanted, she could have got at least three cabinet berths in the UPA government. But, she can't bear to see her party colleagues given more importance than her. For the same reason, she will never merge with the Congress. She wants unaccountable power and is loath to sharing it with anyone," says a former Trinamool leader.

Banerjee's short-temper is well-known. Even at press conferences, she snaps or even walks out, if she doesn't like the questions. Of late, she has mellowed down, say her associates.