KOLKATA: You would run out of clichés to describe Mamata Banerjee's journey from the day a frail, 29-year-old proved herself a giant killer to the day, 27 years later, she single-handedly demolished the invincible CPM.
Suffice to say that life has come full circle for Mamata — Congress, the party that expelled her in 1997, piggybacked on her success to return to power 14 years later. What's more, former state Congress president Soumen Mitra, who engineered her expulsion, was forced to seek refuge in her. Mamata took him in and today Mitra is the Diamond Harbour MP.
Rewind to 1997, and Mamata and Mitra were at loggerheads over nomination of candidates for the parliamentary election. "A compromise was reached. She was declared the chairperson of the Bengal Pradesh Congress Election Committee, which chooses candidates. But later, AICC president Sitaram Kesri said that she was made the chairperson of the 'electioneering committee', not the election committee. Mamata was hurt and angry. She felt that she had been taken for a ride," recalls Saugata Roy. Mamata resigned and the party expelled her almost simultaneously on December 22, 1997.
The tension had been building for at least a year. In April 1996, Mamata accused the Congress of behaving like a stooge of the CPM in Bengal. She said that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress". At a rally in the posh area of Alipore, Mamata suddenly wrapped a black shawl around her neck and threatened to hang herself. In July 1996, she squatted in the well of Lok Sabha to protest against the hike in petroleum price, though she was a part of the government.
In February 1997, on the day of railway budget, Mamata threw her shawl at railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan for ignoring Bengal and announced her resignation. The speaker, P A Sangma , did not accept her resignation and asked her to apologize. It took Santosh Mohan Deb's mediation to get her back.
Mamata was quick to read the writing on the wall. She filed an affidavit before the Election Commission to register the Trinamool Congress as a party on December 17, 1997.
The Soumen Mitra-led PCC wanted Mamata out but she was an AICC member and could not be expelled by the state unit. Sitaram Kesri, evidently insecure in the wake of recent setbacks across the country, endorsed Mitra's decision. Mamata was expelled apparently because she refused to withdraw her statement that the "BJP was not a communal force".
The strong action was a calculated move by the Congress high command to check the rumblings of rebellion in the Rajasthan and Punjab units. Sonia Gandhi tried very hard to hammer out a compromise so that Mamata could be accommodated, but it did not work out, said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
Her expulsion was a blessing in disguise, says former mayor of Kolkata and Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee, Mamata's one-time mentor. "It was very difficult to engineer a strong anti-CPM movement within the Congress. Every movement needs to be endorsed by the high command. It was more difficult for Mamata who is so original in her approach and style. She came out of the Congress and became indomitable. Her expulsion from the Congress was a major turning point."
After the formation of Trinamool Congress, the Congress gradually weakened and Trinamool emerged as the dominant opposition. Trinamool's dominance in the alliance became apparent this year when Mamata gave Congress only 68 seats and forced the party high command to accept it.
However, the relation between Congress and Trinamool is a symbiotic one. "Mamata has to depend on the Congress-run Union government on many issues, be it financial aid or the withdrawal of forces from Jangalmahal. The Centre, on the other hand, cannot be seen as showing special preference to a state," said Congress leader Arunava Ghosh.
Trinamool has its take. "We are in power in Bengal. In the national arena also, we play a crucial role as the biggest ally of the Congress in UPA. We cannot be ignored as a regional party any more," said a senior Trinamool leader.
Former Pradesh Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharya said: "Nothing is constant in politics. No one could think that the Trinamool would topple the mighty Left. The Congress has had many ups and downs in its long journey. I strongly believe that the Congress will regain its lost glory in Bengal."
Suffice to say that life has come full circle for Mamata — Congress, the party that expelled her in 1997, piggybacked on her success to return to power 14 years later. What's more, former state Congress president Soumen Mitra, who engineered her expulsion, was forced to seek refuge in her. Mamata took him in and today Mitra is the Diamond Harbour MP.
Rewind to 1997, and Mamata and Mitra were at loggerheads over nomination of candidates for the parliamentary election. "A compromise was reached. She was declared the chairperson of the Bengal Pradesh Congress Election Committee, which chooses candidates. But later, AICC president Sitaram Kesri said that she was made the chairperson of the 'electioneering committee', not the election committee. Mamata was hurt and angry. She felt that she had been taken for a ride," recalls Saugata Roy. Mamata resigned and the party expelled her almost simultaneously on December 22, 1997.
The tension had been building for at least a year. In April 1996, Mamata accused the Congress of behaving like a stooge of the CPM in Bengal. She said that she was the lone voice of reason and wanted a "clean Congress". At a rally in the posh area of Alipore, Mamata suddenly wrapped a black shawl around her neck and threatened to hang herself. In July 1996, she squatted in the well of Lok Sabha to protest against the hike in petroleum price, though she was a part of the government.
In February 1997, on the day of railway budget, Mamata threw her shawl at railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan for ignoring Bengal and announced her resignation. The speaker, P A Sangma , did not accept her resignation and asked her to apologize. It took Santosh Mohan Deb's mediation to get her back.
Mamata was quick to read the writing on the wall. She filed an affidavit before the Election Commission to register the Trinamool Congress as a party on December 17, 1997.
The Soumen Mitra-led PCC wanted Mamata out but she was an AICC member and could not be expelled by the state unit. Sitaram Kesri, evidently insecure in the wake of recent setbacks across the country, endorsed Mitra's decision. Mamata was expelled apparently because she refused to withdraw her statement that the "BJP was not a communal force".
The strong action was a calculated move by the Congress high command to check the rumblings of rebellion in the Rajasthan and Punjab units. Sonia Gandhi tried very hard to hammer out a compromise so that Mamata could be accommodated, but it did not work out, said a Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
Her expulsion was a blessing in disguise, says former mayor of Kolkata and Trinamool leader Subrata Mukherjee, Mamata's one-time mentor. "It was very difficult to engineer a strong anti-CPM movement within the Congress. Every movement needs to be endorsed by the high command. It was more difficult for Mamata who is so original in her approach and style. She came out of the Congress and became indomitable. Her expulsion from the Congress was a major turning point."
After the formation of Trinamool Congress, the Congress gradually weakened and Trinamool emerged as the dominant opposition. Trinamool's dominance in the alliance became apparent this year when Mamata gave Congress only 68 seats and forced the party high command to accept it.
However, the relation between Congress and Trinamool is a symbiotic one. "Mamata has to depend on the Congress-run Union government on many issues, be it financial aid or the withdrawal of forces from Jangalmahal. The Centre, on the other hand, cannot be seen as showing special preference to a state," said Congress leader Arunava Ghosh.
Trinamool has its take. "We are in power in Bengal. In the national arena also, we play a crucial role as the biggest ally of the Congress in UPA. We cannot be ignored as a regional party any more," said a senior Trinamool leader.
Former Pradesh Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharya said: "Nothing is constant in politics. No one could think that the Trinamool would topple the mighty Left. The Congress has had many ups and downs in its long journey. I strongly believe that the Congress will regain its lost glory in Bengal."
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