West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday that she was disowning and snapping ties with her younger brother Swapan Banerjee who is popularly known as Babun Banerjee.
The Chief Minister’s remarks came a day after her brother said he would contest the Lok Sabha polls against Trinamool Congress candidate Prasun Banerjee as an independent. “From today, I totally disassociate myself from him. From now on, please do not link my name with him. Forget that I had any relationship with him. Not only me, other members of my family will also disassociate themselves from him,” Ms. Banerjee told media persons at Siliguri in north Bengal.
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Babun Banerjee is a popular name in Kolkata’s sporting circles and has aired his differences with footballer and Howrah MP Prasun Banerjee. “I have a lot of allergies towards Prasun Banerjee. I may contest as an independent candidate against him,” the Chief Minister’s brother had told a private news channel. Youngest of the Chief Minister’s six brothers, Babun Banerjee is a president of Bengal Olympic Association, Bengal Hockey Association, secretary of Bengal Boxing Association and also in charge of the sports wing of the State’s ruling party.
Prasun Banerjee is a two time MP who was elected From Howrah Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and 2019.
Greedy people
He was keen to contest from Howrah Lok Sabha seat and had also registered as a voter in Howrah. “Sometimes, people become greedy as they grow older. In every election, he creates problems. I do not like greedy people,” the Chief Minister said. Ms. Banerjee added that she was unhappy with his conduct.
There has been talk that Babun was trying to reach out to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After the Chief Minister issued a strong statement, he softened and said that he would not do anything against the wishes of ‘Didi’, his elder sister.
Abhishek Banerjee, the Chief Minister’s nephew and son of her brother Ajit Banerjee is the party’s general secretary and two-time MP from Diamond Harbour. He is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the same seat. A sister-in law of the Trinamool Congress chairperson Kajori Banerjee is a councillor at the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.
“Smt@MamataOfficial reflected on her humble beginnings, recounting the days of toil and hardship at a milk depot to support her family and the betrayal she endured from those closest to her. But for her, ‘family’ transcends the confines of blood relations; it encompasses the people of Bengal as a collective. It is a bond forged through shared experiences, shared aspirations and shared struggles,” Trinamool Congress posted on its ‘X’ handle.
No change in Barrackpore
During the day, the Chief Minister also ruled out any change in the candidate for Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat. Ms. Banerjee said that State Irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmick is a good candidate and people of Barrackpore will support him. The Trinamool announced names of candidates for the 42 Lok Sabha seats on March 10 including Partha Bhowmick from Barrackpore.
Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh, who won the 2019 Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket defected to Trinamool Congress in 2022. After being denied a Trinamool ticket from Barrackpore, Mr. Singh is warming up to the BJP again. On Wednesday he said he would contest in the Lok Sabha polls against Trinamool Congress candidate Partha Bhowmick from Barrackpore.