'I am the final word': Mamata Banerjee reminds TMC leaders of her absolute authority amid 'power-struggle'

Speaking to the TMC legislators at the legislative assembly, Mamata said as quoted by The Times of India, "I am still here. I am the final word (in the party). I and Bakshi Da (TMC state president Subrata Bakshi) will  look after the party."

"Everyone in the party is equal. Someone may be a minister today and a legislator tomorrow," she added.

The TMC chairperson has asked her legislators to talk less and connect to people.

Mamata's rare reminder comes days after she reshuffled the party's national working committee where several of her loyalists have been inducted.

Over the last few weeks, multiple TMC leaders were at loggerheads over who would run the show for the party, which was founded by Mamata Banerjee splitting from Congress in 1998.

A couple of weeks ago, TMC MLA Humanyun Kabir had even proposed party national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP, Abhishek Banerjee, to become the state home minister.

"Mamata Banerjee should become the chief minister for the fourth term. But I demand Abhishek Banerjee to become her deputy and state home minister," the Bharatpur MLA, who was later rebuked by Mamata, had said.

Former minister and TMC MLA Madan Mitra had also favoured Abhishek's induction into the government. "The combination of younger and older generations always gives momentum."

Batting for Abhishek to take the calls in the party, veteran TMC MP Saugata Roy said, "Mamata Banerjee is consumed by the administrative duties so it would be good if Abhishek runs the party as a whole-timer as he is trusted by the chief as well as workers."

"Can a single person take such a workload to run a state of 10 crore people? Mamata Banerjee will be the last word but someone needs to be given charge of the day-to-day work," he added.

Meanwhile, Abhishek's recent doctors' meet at his Lok Sabha constituency Diamond Harbour in the backdrop of the TMC government facing public ire over the RG Kar rape-murder incident has assumed significance.

The TMC MP, who remained behind the curtains mostly when unprecedented public protests swept Kolkata and its neighbouring districts, addressed the doctors in an outreach campaign at Amtala last week.

Despite the simmering protests, the TMC's votebank seemed to remain unaffected in the districts as the ruling party swept all six recent bypolls last month, dashing the hope for a Left resurgence which was remotely viewed through the lens of the RG Kar protests.

The Left not only drew a blank but also lost the deposits in all seats while Mamata's prime opponent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) missed the only seat Madarihat which it had in its kitty out of six.