Is Anubrata Mondal so important for the Trinamool Congress ahead of the Assembly elections next year that he can get away with what he did recently?
This is the question doing the rounds in ruling party circles since the leader allegedly abused the inspector-in-charge of the Bolpur police station and his family members on May 28.
Trinamool workers are, however, divided into two camps on the issue.
One group believes that displeasing Mondal could cost the party dearly in the Assembly polls. The other group, however, points to the 2024 general election, where the party won both Birbhum and Bolpur with bigger margins despite Mondal being in Tihar jail.
However, the TMC's apparent leniency — particularly its decision not to take punitive action against the foul-mouthed leader — has raised another question: Is the ruling dispensation refraining from acting against Mondal because of the possible electoral impact in Birbhum?
"The party did not support his actions (of abusing the police officer), which is why he was asked to issue an unconditional apology (within four hours of the audio clip being widely shared on social media)," said TMC leader Kunal Ghosh.
Still, Mamata Banerjee's party has taken no concrete action to remove him from his positions as a core committee member of the Birbhum district Trinamool and the chairman of the State Rural Development Authority (SRDA).
Many TMC workers have pointed to the swift action taken against Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) district president Bikramjit Shaw, who was suspended for six years by the student organisation's state president for criticising the IC on social media and accusing the cop of corruption. Action was taken against Shaw even though he was far less abusive in his social media post than the Bribhum strongman.
"The TMCP leader was immediately suspended by the TMC state president, despite his social media post not being as offensive as what Mondal said about the IC's wife and mother. Surprisingly, the party has taken no action against Mondal, even though the allegations against him are far graver and have embarrassed the ruling party," said a senior TMC leader.
Asked about the apparent double standard, Ghosh said: “The party is observing the issue very closely.”
A senior TMC leader in Calcutta claimed that the party was taking time to decide on Mondal’s fate — specifically, whether to sideline him after evaluating the pros and cons of keeping him close or removing him from the core committee that steers TMC’s political strategy in Birbhum.
Mondal had been removed from his post as district president last month and made a member of the core committee.
“I believe the party will gradually sideline him. Anubrata Mondal has become a political burden, especially after the abuse episode. He was arrested by the CBI and spent two years in Delhi’s Tihar jail in the multi-crore cattle smuggling case. That alone was enough for the party to refrain from reinstating him as district president. Secondly, he’s no longer crucial for electoral success in Birbhum. It was proved in the 2024 general election,” said the leader.
A source said many TMC leaders, including national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, believed Mondal was no longer a factor for the party. The 2024 results, with increased victory margins, support that view, especially since Mondal played no role while being in Tihar jail.
In 2019, when Mondal was actively involved, Bolpur MP Asit Mal and Birbhum MP Satabdi Roy won their seats with margins of around 89,000 and over 1 lakh votes, respectively. In the 2024 general election, Mal and Roy won with margins of 3.7 lakh and 1.97 lakh votes, respectively.
"Then why do we need Anubrata Mondal, who is tainted by allegations of cattle smuggling? If he were truly indispensable, the MPs’ victory margins would have shrunk," said a TMC leader belonging to Mondal's rival camp in Birbhum.
However, leaders close to Mondal argue that the party’s top brass knows his value, especially given his massive support base.
“Don’t assume that electoral impact is the same if Anubrata Mondal is in jail while holding the post of district president and if he is cornered by the party while out of jail. If Kesto (as Mondal is fondly called) da is sidelined, thousands of his supporters — mostly Hindus — will be upset and might quickly shift allegiance to the BJP,” said one of his loyalists.
On Wednesday, Mondal reached the TMC office in Bolupr without police escort — Y-plus security — raising a suspicion that his security had been withdrawn. However, police did not confirm it.
The BJP moved an adjournment motion on the floor of the Bengal Assembly on Wednesday, demanding the arrest of the Birbhum strongman. The Speaker, Biman Banerjee, rejected the motion, triggering massive protests by BJP members, who walked out and demonstrated on the Assembly premises with posters demanding Mondal's punishment.