Falta fallout sparks rare dissent in TMC meet; Abhishek hits out at BJP over KMC notices

Dissent surfaced at an internal TMC legislators' meeting on Tuesday as the dramatic withdrawal of the party's Falta candidate Jahangir Khan from the May 21 repoll triggered uncomfortable questions, aimed at the leadership circle around its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

The meeting at Kalighat, attended by TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek, saw legislators raising questions over Falta's sudden political turmoil and the party's organisational functioning, sources said.

The trigger was Jahangir Khan -- the self-styled 'Pushpa' of Falta politics -- who had stunned the state's political circles earlier in the day by announcing his withdrawal from the repoll, virtually opening the door for the BJP in one of the most contentious seats of the recent assembly elections.

According to party sources, two MLAs from Kolkata and one from Howrah raised uncomfortable questions at the meeting, using Jahangir's exit as a reference point.

The three legislators, incidentally, arrived together at the Kalighat meeting in the same vehicle -- a detail not lost on political observers.

TMC sources said questions were raised as to why Jahangir, despite abandoning the electoral contest two days before polling, had not faced disciplinary action.

Some of the remarks were seen as thinly veiled criticism aimed at Abhishek, under whose Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency Falta falls.

Two senior MLAs allegedly made a sarcastic reference to Jahangir as a ''leader of a centrally administered territory'' -- an apparent dig at the perception of a tightly controlled political ecosystem in the Diamond Harbour belt.

Questions were also raised about why Jahangir, who had allegedly enjoyed considerable organisational support and proximity to influential leaders, eventually chose to walk away from the contest.

The Falta seat has acquired outsized political symbolism over recent weeks.

The April 29 election there was subsequently countermanded, and a repoll announced. During campaigning before the earlier election, Abhishek had publicly said Jahangir requested him to build a crematorium in the area. He later remarked that after the assembly election results on May 4, those who ''died of heart attacks'' could be cremated there.

Party insiders said the controversial comment too resurfaced during Tuesday's discussion, with legislators reportedly asking who would now build the crematorium and for whom.

Senior party leaders interpreted the remarks as a broader message to the party's top leadership at a time when sections within the organisation are privately debating post-election strategy and visibility.

The discussion also gained significance against the backdrop of questions surrounding Abhishek's recent political visibility.

After the declaration of election results, Mamata Banerjee has remained publicly active -- attending programmes and moving court over post-poll violence issues -- while Abhishek has maintained a relatively lower profile and was not prominently visible during the Falta campaign, despite the assembly seat falling within his parliamentary turf.

The meeting also reportedly saw concerns over attendance. Around 15 legislators were absent, the party sources said.

While several MLAs cited health reasons, one legislator from Malda reportedly informed the leadership that he was in Delhi on work, sparking speculation in political circles about possible future moves, though there was no official confirmation.

Separately, the meeting also addressed procedural issues related to Ballygunje MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay's recognition as Leader of Opposition in the assembly. Sources said legislators signed a letter supporting his nomination.

The turbulent meeting came hours after Abhishek struck a defiant note over civic notices issued regarding some of his properties in Kolkata.

Speaking at the legislators' meeting, he asserted that neither notices nor threats would make him bend.

''Let them demolish my house, let them send notices. I will not bow my head. Whatever happens, my fight against the BJP will continue,'' a TMC MLA present at the meeting quoted Abhishek.

His remarks came amid a fresh controversy over notices issued by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation concerning alleged plan deviations at properties linked to him, including residences at Harish Mukherjee Road and Kalighat Road in the southern part of the city.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)