The regime change in Bengal has altered the lives of millions of Trinamool 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 allegations 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 associates.
Bearing the brunt
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 associates 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 am not going to 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 and ethical 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 that I was unaware of the scale of the wrongdoing. There are hardly any Trinamool supporters stepping out freely in our neighbourhood. Most prefer to 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 enough.
Soon after Trinamool’s victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, 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.
He quickly added: “I have been associated with Trinamool since its foundation. My loyalty to Mamata is sacrosanct. I am still willing to fight if Mamata is.”
Then and now
When Trinamool came to power in 2011, ending the CPM’s 34-year rule, the political battle was bitter and bloody. Yet the aftermath was markedly different from the present moment. Ordinary CPM supporters were not subjected to daily humiliation after the change of guard.
Many would argue that the CPM’s rejection was driven less by corruption and more by ideological failure, systemic violence and political authoritarianism.
A sociologist who requested anonymity attributed the difference to changing social attitudes. “Compare the period from the 1980s to the early 2000s with the years between 2010 and 2026. Across the world, the latter period has been marked by rising material aspirations, status consciousness and consumption. Simply put, money,” said the teacher.
“By 2026, aspirations reached dizzying heights. Unfulfilled expectations have led to animosity towards Trinamool, whose downfall is being linked to corruption and money. Some people made money; many did not. The prevailing sentiment is that the wealth accumulated by these leaders and their associates could have been theirs instead.”
A veteran lawyer at Bankshall Court and a vocal Trinamool supporter said he recently lost a couple of retainerships because of his political affiliation.
“One client was courteous enough to tell me that he did not want to be seen with a Trinamool supporter,” said the 59-year-old lawyer, who once worked closely with Subrata Mukherjee, Mamata’s late political mentor.
“The first six months are like a honeymoon period for a new government. No one wants to hear criticism of the rulers. Even in informal gatherings, we are stopped from speaking. We are told we have no right to speak because we support Trinamool.”
Politics of blame
Political scientist Maidul Islam said the vilification of Trinamool supporters operates on several levels and cannot be explained solely through allegations of corruption.
“The (Trinamool) voters are not at fault. They participated in a democratic process. Think of the millions who could not vote because of the SIR. Many of those votes might also have gone into Trinamool,” said Islam, who teaches at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta.
“The vilification campaign is orchestrated. The entire anti-Trinamool bloc, combining the saffron and Left ecosystems, is united in this effort. There is also an inherent class bias against Mamata because of what she achieved despite her socio-economic background.”