The Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has proposed a retirement age for politicians, a move thst appears to be an an afterthought to the BJP’s own handling of its holy troika of the late Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

On Sunday, talking to a private news channel, Abhishek opined, “I believe there should be a retirement age for politicians. Be it 60, 65 or 70. Not just government offices, even in private companies, people must make room for the next generation. Why not in political parties?"

If Abhishek has his way, then Mamata at 67 is either already in the retirement zone or just three years short of it, depending on whether such a proposal comes into effect.

Margdarshak mandal entered the political lexicon in India in 2014 when then BJP president Amit Shah pushed the three party veterans including a former prime minister- Vajpayee, Advani and Joshi- into what would be loosely described as a mentor’s room, an exclusive reserve for those who have crossed the age of 75.

Incidentally Prime Minister Modi is just four years short of being eligible for the margdarshak mandal. On Monday, Mamata left for Lucknow, where she will be campaigning for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh polls in which the Trinamul has decided to support the Samajwadi Party, although it will not contest itself.

A huge section of the Trinamul leaders do not believe the general secretary’s proposal is targeted towards his aunt, but rather the coterie of leaders that has survived and thrived in Bengal politics with Mamata Banerjee’s blessings.

Of the 21 cabinet rank ministers, five are in their 70s and 12 in their 60s, while the oldest junior minister with independent charge is former MP Ratna De Nag, and three others in their 60s.

Trinamul insiders said more than the age factor, the party chief’s reluctance to act on the one-man, one-post policy that was adopted soon after it came to power for a third time is what was bothering the nephew and the aunt.

According to Trinamul sources, Abhishek has made it clear that as long as he is the all-India general secretary of the party, he will ensure that the policy gets implemented.

“The one-man, one-post policy was adopted by Didi herself. The only exception, the working committee had mentioned, would be Didi herself,” said a Trinamul insider. Just last week, Mamata was re-elected unopposed as the chairperson of the All-India Trinamul Congress.

“There are some leaders in the party and government who have continued on two posts. Abhishek wants that to change,” the insider said.

The three in the line of Abhishek’s fire are Partha Chatterjee, Firhad Hakim and Subrata Bakshi. Bakshi is holding to two posts in the organization, while Chatterjee apart from being a minister with multiple portfolios is also the secretary-general of the party.

Hakim, who was almost sidelined following his arrest last year in connection with the Narada bribe case, is not only a cabinet minister but has also retained his post as the mayor of Calcutta, a decision that did not go down well with Abhishek.

Among the three, Bakshi is the oldest at 71, while Chatterjee is inching close to 70. Hakim is the youngest at 63, but stands to lose the most if Mamata agree with Abhishek’s insistence on one-man, one-party post

Ahead of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation polls, the list of candidates proposed by strategist Prashant Kishore, who is perceived to be close to Abhishek, were rejected.

Trinamul sources said, Mamata is unhappy with Abhishek’s dependence on PK and his team. “It is unlikely that he will continue any further as a strategist for the party after the next round of state elections,” said a Trinamul leader.

The cue for a ceiling may well have come from another political rival, the CPM, which now has come up with age caps at all levels of the party in state and central units.

The CPM has made it mandatory that no new member above the age of 60 will be included in the party's state committee. The upper age limit in the state committee is 72 and for the district committee, 70. The age limit for area committees is 65. On the other hand, those above 75 will have to step down from the central committee.