Where is Abhishek Banerjee?

The question has been doing the rounds in the ruling Trinamool Congress as the party and the Mamata Banerjee government grapple with the fallout of the Supreme Court verdict that annulled 25,753 school jobs earlier this month.

Not that the Trinamool national general secretary and the party No. 2 has other pressing matters at hand. On Friday, Abhishek made a congratulatory post on social media about the Diamond Harbour Football Club qualifying for the I-League.

However, Abhishek’s radio silence on the school job fiasco has befuddled the party ranks.

“This is another major political and administrative crisis after the August 9 RG Kar rape and murder of a doctor. The government has been struggling to handle the issue politically. We can feel his absence as the party needs to manage the situation more smartly,” a Trinamool leader said.

Abhishek has not participated in any political event since March 15, when he chaired a two-hour virtual meeting to form committees for electoral roll surveillance and the identification of ghost voters. He is scheduled to travel to Sodepur on Saturday to inaugurate aprivate hospital.

A source close to Abhishek attributed his silence totwo reasons.

First, the issue is “purely administrative” and is being handled by the government, specifically the education department. Second, “Mamata Banerjee had directed Abhishek to focus on national issues and parliamentary affairs in a party meeting at her Kalighat residence in November last year”, thesource said.

“He never gets involved in government matters. That’s why he hasn’t commented on the teachers’ unrest over job dismissals. You should also note that he was specifically directed to focus on national and parliamentary affairs during the organisational meeting led by Mamata Banerjee,” the source said.

However, multiple sources suggested Abhishek’s reticence stemmed from Mamata’s assertion that she alone would lead the ruling dispensation.

After Abhishek chaired the March 15 meeting, many party insiders had hoped to see aunt and nephew put up a unified front ahead of the2026 elections.

“However, that unity didn’t materialise. Though Abhishek convened the March 15 meeting, he wasn’t asked to take charge of the political response to the School Service Commission crisis. It was party president Subrata Bakshi’s office that announced the party’s political strategy,” a Trinamool insider said.

Following instructions from Bakshi’s office, party leaders held protest rallies in blocks, towns and villages claiming that thousands had lost their jobs thanks to a conspiracy hatched by the BJP and the CPM.

Several Trinamool leaders in the districts admitted that the turnout was poor at these rallies. Many party workers appeared demoralised after witnessing the public reaction on the ground.

“We need to think differently. We’re feeling the absence of Abhishek Banerjee, who could have brought a smarter, more strategic approach to counter the Opposition’s narrative. It’s not just those who lost jobs — families with unemployed graduates are now asking us uncomfortable questions,” a party leader in Purulia said.

Had Abhishek been given charge of the matter, a Trinamool leader close to him said, the party could have seen a “more effective response through social media, a coordinated movement andbetter messaging”.

Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh declined to comment on Abhishek but said that all party members should engage with social media to counter false narratives. “I can only say all party leaders should take to social media and participate in political activities as per the instructions of our party chairperson, Mamata Banerjee,” Ghosh said.

A senior Trinamool leader argued that involving Abhishek might not have eased the situation as the Opposition parties — especially the BJP — have targeted him for his alleged link to the SSC scam.

Referring to a comment by “Kalighat-er Kaku” Sujoy Krishna Bhadra — one of the key accused in the school jobs scam case — leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has claimed that 80 per cent of the money wentto Abhishek.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar too has questioned Abhishek’s absence from Mamata’s meeting with the job-losers.