Abhishek Banerjee moves to the front amid rising rhetorics over SIR

New Delhi, Nov 1 Amid allegations and counter-allegations over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter’s list in West Bengal and other states, Trinamool Congress General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee has evolved as the prominent face in the state’s ruling dispensation against the process.

The MP from Diamond Harbour usually prefers to work outside the limelight. His aunt, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – who founded the party in 1998, and almost single-handedly steered it to national prominence – remains the public face that drives the party.

It is on her call, say analysts, that electors respond even to this day, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has evolved as the state’s principal Opposition.

Meanwhile, Abhishek’s quick rise through party ranks and his attention to organisation details have made him the perceived heir apparent.

“Why shouldn’t he play the role of a general?” countered a Trinamool Congress functionary considered close to the younger Banerjee when asked about his current position.

The term gained popularity following the “new versus” old controversy over party leadership where some members hold the two leaders as “Mamata, our leader; Abhishek our general”.

The mid-level leader, asking not to be named, claimed that Abhishek would be “more active” in coming days, through the run-up to the Assembly polls, expected in the first half of 2026.

In the space of time since the Election Commission announced the second leg of SIR rollout, Abhishek has shifted from being seen as the party’s organisational fulcrum to a frontline strategist on an issue that is raising complexity and emotion.

He has exhibited aggressive public framing that tied the exercise to a larger narrative of disenfranchisement, and rapid operational mobilisation to shield assumed “vulnerable voters”.

Abhishek launched a broadside against the exercise in a press conference though he avoids formal interaction with the media on a larger scale.

Later, he directed his party’s booth-level agents to “shadow” the poll body’s booth-level officers who will go door-to-door for voters’ verification.

He is also meeting – in-person and virtual – with Trinamol Congress leaders in blocks and districts to chalk out party strategy.

Veteran journalist and author Suvashis Maitra considers his move to the proscenium as a “sort of defensive mechanism”.

He points out to the revision process in Bihar, where there were apprehensions of large-scale elimination of voters. But the final number of voters removed from the draft list stood at 65 lakhs.

“A similar situation is now building up in West Bengal, where some BJP leaders raised the rhetoric, claiming crores of fake voters will be removed from electoral rolls,” he said.

“Similarly, certain TMC leaders let out a war cry, which included threats of ‘rivers of blood’ if the list was ‘tampered’,” he added.

The rising temperature before a highly-anticipated Assembly election has brought Abhishek to the forefront. As Mamata upped her ante, the nephew too moved in publicly, showing integration and cohesion.

BJP leaders like Union Minister Shantanu Thakur claimed that around 1.2 crore illegal voters could be struck off West Bengal's voters list during SIR.

This statement drew a sharp rebuttal from the Trinamool Congress, with party leader Rajib Banerjee saying that "blood will flow" if the names of voters are removed during the process.

Both sides have since pulled down the rhetorics.

The younger Banerjee’s political ascent within Trinamool Congress has long been visible in party corridors; the electoral process has brought him to the public stage, exhibiting his influence and recasting the party’s organisational posture in West Bengal.

Akin to a wrestler slapping his thighs to challenge the opponent to move in even while building own confidence, Maitra assumes that each leader is trying to build a narrative to intimidate the other.

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