It was a thin crowd for a sit-in held under the Dr B R Ambedkar statue at the Assembly. Out of 80 TMC MLAs, 34 were there – less than half. For the first time since the election, the absence of some of their own has been hard to miss.
Damage control and explanations
Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, a senior in the party, would have you believe the numbers are being put in a bad light. “We had around 35 at the programme,” he said, putting it down to logistics. Some of his colleagues from outlying areas only got a day’s notice; others were put to work in places where things have been rough.
Then there is Kunal Ghosh, who was on hand to put a spin on it. He said a lot of the MLAs were tied up in their constituencies dealing with what he called “deadly” violence from the new government. A fact-finding team was in the field that very day, and with many of their workers made homeless by targeted attacks, some legislators felt they had to be with them rather than in the capital.
From strategy rooms to streets
The protest didn’t come out of nowhere. Word is, a get-together at Mamata Banerjee’s place on Tuesday made it clear the TMC needs to be back on the streets instead of behind closed doors if they want to make up for lost ground after the 2026 polls. One of the old hands in the party put it bluntly: “In 15 days we’ve seen dozens of our people attacked. The BJP is out with its bulldozers and we are at home. We have to do something.”
What the protest targeted
So they did. The focus was on the ruling dispensation’s heavy hand with evictions and the unrest. But for a party that has made its name on high-voltage agitations, the low turnout on Wednesday left some observers scratching their heads. It’s not just about the headcount; it’s what it says about a 15-year-old regime now in the minority.
What to watch next
They have more planned for Thursday at Sealdah, Howrah and Ballygunj. You can read the next round of protests as a test of whether Wednesday was a fluke or how it’s going to be.
Here are the takeaways the party wants voters to hear next:
– Protests could continue on Thursday
– Sites include Sealdah, Howrah, and Ballygunj
– Fact-finding visits covered affected areas
– Attacks reported in the 15 days since results
– Evictions and bulldozers remain core concerns
Slogans hint at internal unease
There was some subtext to the day’s events, too. At the demonstration, you heard ‘Mamata Banerjee Zindabad’ and ‘Trinamool Zindabad’, but no mention of Abhishek Banerjee. After his aide Jahangir Khan pulled out of the Falta contest, some in political circles see it as a sign of unease with his standing. The top brass will tell you there is no rift, but the optics are there for all to see.
Optics, signals, and stakes
For the TMC, the job is to put some substance behind their words. They say they are defending rights and livelihoods, but they have to prove they can stand firm in the capital while also looking after their own in the field. In the end, the 34 or “around 35” who turned up have cast a long shadow over an attempt to be seen as a force to be reckoned with.
