A suggestion to make Trinamool Congress (TMC) number two Abhishek Banerjee the Home Minister of West Bengal has set off the latest row within the party, once again exposing fissures between its old and new guard.

It all started after the murder attempt on Susanta Ghosh, a Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor. On Saturday (November 16), an armed man tried to shoot Ghosh while he was sitting outside his house. Immediately after this, Kolkata Mayor and state urban development minister Firhad Hakim held a press conference and came down heavily on the police. “Enough is enough. Where is the Kolkata Police? Where is its information network? I ask the Kolkata Police to act now,” said Hakim.

Later Saugata Roy, the Lok Sabha MP from Dumdum, told the media: “Can you imagine that 9 mm pistols are coming to Kolkata from Bihar? It is time to think about this. It is definitely a failure of Kolkata Police.”

In response to the attack on Ghosh, TMC’s Bharatpur MLA and former state Cabinet minister Humayun Kabir said he wanted Abhishek to become the Deputy Chief Minister and full-time Home Minister. Mamata Banerjee who is Abhishek’s aunt currently holds the Home portfolio.

“Mamata Banerjee is overburdened with work,” Kabir said. “She also has to see the national politics and the INDIA alliance (of which the TMC is a part). I think it is time that Abhishek Banerjee is brought in as Deputy CM with full charge of the police (Home) department… That will not only ease the CM’s burden.”

His namesake and Debra MLA Humayun Kabir, who is a former IPS officer, also joined the chorus. “What is said is not wrong. In my opinion, it will be a good move, “ he said.

However, the opposition from within the party came in swiftly. On Tuesday, Hakim made it clear that he was not in favour of Abhishek’s elevation. “Mamata Banerjee is capable of doing everything. We won by showing Mamata Banerjee’s picture. Those who are saying all these big things should first remove Mamata Banerjee’s picture and show us that they can win a single election on their own,” he said.

Madan Mitra, former transport minister and veteran TMC leader, also made an oblique remark that seemed to point towards the division between the old guard and pro-Abhishek leaders in the party. “I can show you cars that are 70 or 80 years old. I can show you cars that are from the era of the second world war. They run better than new cars,” he said.

Backing Kolkata Police, Mitra said, “Kolkata Police is over-burdened. Their hands are tied. They are busy manning rallies and other things.”

This war of words comes at a time when Abhishek, a TMC national general secretary and Diamond Harbour MP, is looking at a major reshuffle in the party at the district level. The performance of TMC district presidents and other office-bearers is being reviewed and many are expected to be replaced soon.

According to TMC insiders, a divide exists in the party between leaders whose primary allegiance is to Mamata Banerjee and those pushing for a greater role for her nephew. With the forthcoming reshuffle, Abhishek, who is the de facto number two in the party, is expected to further increase his hold at the organisation level in different districts. As a result, several top TMC leaders fear losing grip and influence on district leaders.

The “young versus old” debate in the TMC keeps coming up every once in a while. Earlier this year, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh’s broadside against senior Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandopadhyay showed that a rift continues to exist between the two sides. In December 2023, controversy erupted when Abhishek said there should be an age limit for political leaders as productivity decreases with age. While leaders such as party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh and Mitra echoed Banerjee’s stand, saying older leaders should play an advisory role, senior leaders such as Sudip Bandopadhyay and Saugata Roy expressed displeasure at the suggestion and said the final call lay with Mamata Banerjee.

In April 2023, Hakim was forced to roll back a decision to hike parking fees in Kolkata, illustrating his supposedly strained ties with Abhishek.