Why are rival Trinamool Congress factions competing to hold the July 21 Martyrs’ Day Rally? | Explained
The story so far: Since the change of regime in West Bengal after the recently concluded Assembly polls, politics in the State is hinged on
The story so far: Since the change of regime in West Bengal after the recently concluded Assembly polls, politics in the State is hinged on who is going to occupy the Opposition space. Despite registering a vote share of 40% and winning 80 seats in the Assembly polls, the Trinamool Congress is facing a rebellion with a majority of MLAs and MPs deciding to part ways with party chairperson Mamata Banerjee. A rebel faction of the Trinamool Congress led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, who has support of more than 65 of the 80 MLAs, is claiming itself to be the “real Trinamool”. Another group of Lok Sabha MPs (20 of the 28) have joined the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and are asserting themselves as a separate grouping which will support the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) led Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre. The loyalists of Mamata Banerjee, though diminished in number, say that there cannot be a Trinamool without her. The Trinamool Congress was formed by Mamata Banerjee after she left the Congress party in 1998. After two decades in the Opposition, the party came to power in West Bengal in 2011 and ruled the State for 15 years till 2026, before it was defeated by the BJP. With several factions of Trinamool, the Congress party is also trying to assert itself and July 21 is going to be an important opportunity for them to show their strength.
What is the significance of Martyrs’ Day in West Bengal? Martyrs’ Day, or Shaheed Diwas, is observed every year in West Bengal to commemorate the 13 Youth Congress workers who were killed in police firing on July 21, 1993, during the Left Front regime. Mamata Banerjee, who was in the Congress then, had organised a march towards the Writer’s Building (State Secretariat during the Left regime) demanding that Voter IDs be the sole mandatory card for elections. The protest turned violent as police opened fire on the protestors, resulting in 13 deaths. Over the past three decades, the July 21 Martyrs’ Day gathering has become Mamata Banerjee’s biggest annual political gathering. After 2011, when she came to power, not only her party leaders and supporters but prominent people from all walks of life would make a beeline at the gathering. Sharing the stage with Mamata Banerjee at the July 21 event in the past 15 years would mean having the blessings of the ruling establishment in West Bengal. Lakhs of people from all across the State would gather outside Victoria House in Esplanade to catch a glimpse of the leader and hear her speak. Who is holding Martyrs’ Day rally and where? Both the Mamata Banerjee led faction of the Trinamool Congress and Ritabrata Banerjee led faction of the party had sought permission from Kolkata Police to hold a rally outside Victoria House in Esplanade.
The BriefWire