The regime change in Bengal has altered the lives of millions of Trinamool Congress supporters, many of whom have never faced allegations of wrongdoing.
Taunts and jibes — at home, in neighbourhoods and at workplaces — have become routine. Their support for the party is being seen as an endorsement of the corruption charges swirling around it.
The speed at which Trinamool appears to be imploding has emboldened its critics.
Despite the BJP's victory, Trinamool secured more than 2.5 crore votes, or 41% of the electorate. Much of that support is rooted in unwavering loyalty to Mamata Banerjee, who is now witnessing an exodus of trusted aides.
A 68-year-old retired employee of a Maharatna company has muted her family WhatsApp group. The chat is flooded with reports of raids on, arrests of and public parades involving Trinamool leaders and their aides accused of corruption.
“I am tagged in almost every forward, as if I am a party to the corruption,” said the woman, who lives with her husband in New Alipore.
“I have worked with dignity all my life. I don’t owe a penny to anyone. I support Trinamool because I admire Mamata Banerjee. I won't be apologetic for that. Does that make me a thief?” she asked.
The couple’s son and daughter are both settled outside Bengal.
Her husband, a 72-year-old retired customs officer, is a member of a morning walkers’ club. “We start early. A fellow walker asks me every day which Trinamool leader I think will be arrested before the day is over,” he said.
A man in his early 50s who teaches maths at a government school is a member of a Trinamool-backed teachers’ association.
His colleagues know him as an upright person. Earlier, some Left-leaning teachers would describe him as “a good person in a bad party”. Now, the jibes have become sharper.
“They refuse to believe I was unaware of the scale of the wrongdoing. There are hardly any Trinamool supporters stepping out freely in our neighbourhood. Most stay indoors,” said the Ahiritola resident.
At the local market, young men pass snide remarks.
“They keep saying Abhishek Banerjee’s arrest is inevitable and Mamata’s political career is over,” he said.
He blamed Abhishek for not being grounded. After Trinamool’s victory in the 2021 Assembly polls, he visited Abhishek’s Harish Mukherjee Road residence for organisational work. "I was made to wait for more than five hours. Then I had to climb six floors because the lift was out of bounds for people like us. After all that, I only met one of his aides,” he recalled.