Book Decodes Mamata Banerjee’s Fragile Bonds with Acolytes
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee & Book Cover of Decoding Didi: Making Sense of Mamata Banerjee by Dola Mitra (Image credit X.com)
‘Decoding Didi: Making Sense of Mamata Banerjee’ by Dola Mitra Offers Ringside View of TMC
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, April 12, 2025: Leaked videos of Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee shouting at fellow parliamentarians from his own party brought limelight into the world of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Turncoat Kirti Azad got a taste of the internal politics of the TMC as Kalyan Banerjee went tongue lashing against him in the leaked WhatsApp group chat.
Days have passed by, but the West Bengal Chief Minister has not taken any action against Kalyan Banerjee. His “The International Lady” may still be awaiting Mamata Banerjee to assuage her feelings.
But the episode should be a norm in the world of Mamata Banerjee.
When internal feuds erupt it is entirely Mamata’s discretion whether she will intervene and reprimand a party colleague. Not that she is averse or reluctant to as senior journalist Dola Mitra points out in her book ‘Decoding Didi: Making Sense of Mamata Banerjee’, published by Rupa in 2014.
While decoding the personality of the woman who was able to uproot the 34-year-old Communist rule almost singlehandedly Dola Mitra documents the inherent personality traits which entails unpredictability.
Didi can and does step in and express her discontent against her party colleagues, even if he or she is a close confidante. Kalyan Banerjee himself, perceived to be close to Didi, had been at the receiving end of Mamata Banerjee.
“….MP Kalyan Banerjee….had to explain himself to Mamata for a speech – one which had been praised by other MPs for being well-argued – he delivered in parliament during one of the Lokpal debates,” writes Dola Mitra in her book.
The author gives a vivid account of several of the acolytes falling out with Mamata Banerjee over the years. Dola Mitra quoted an insider in the TMC, saying: “We have to constantly watch our steps so that we don’t step on her toes.”
She quotes erstwhile close colleagues of Didi who mentions her “mercurial temperament”. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, one of Didi’s closest confidantes too had a brief falling out with her, which the book mentions.
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Dola Mitra cited several of the TMC leaders from her inner coterie who had parted ways with Mamata Banerjee on bitter notes. However, other than Dinesh Trivedi who left the party and decided to join rival BJP, there have been reconciliations over the years.
In 10 chapters running into 208 pages, Dola Mitra has given a ringside view of Mamata Banerjee on the basis of her several interviews with TMC leaders who enjoyed close proximity with the Chief Minister in the first few years of her coming to power. Also, the book spotlights the well-known lament that ‘Poribortan (change)’ remained elusive in West Bengal.
The book is an authoritative account from a senior journalist who has seen West Bengal from close quarters while being a witness to epochal events. Dola Mitra traces the journey of Mamata Banerjee, from the days of Didi’s Singur agitation to her winning the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections.
The author also delves deeper into the Singur agitation, revising tense powerplay between the CPI (M) and the TMC. The Tata Nano plant project, shelved after the violent agitation, was the most sought-after agenda of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, then Chief Minister of West Bengal, to reindustrialize the state.
Dola Mitra credits the land policy of the Mamata Banerjee-led government for strings of poll victories in West Bengal. The author asked, “Despite disappointments, why does TMC keep winning elections?”
Dola Mitra herself gives the answer by saying that one needs to look into the land policy which remains highly popular. “Despite the long-term fallout from Singur protests over this issue, the Trinamool government’s overall land policy against government involvement in land acquisition continues to be popular,” wrote Dola Mitra in the book.
The author stated that the vast majority of the rural population of West Bengal are owners of small parcels of land, “which is typically their only asset, their place of residence, and their sole source of livelihood”.
Dola Mitra recalled that the popularity of the Left Front in West Bengal was largely due to the 1977 land reform policy which ensured that each household in the rural parts had some parcels of land as their own. Dola Mitra suggested in the book that the Singur project was an undoing of the Left Front’s electoral script, as the state government took away the land and forced the small farmers into negotiations.
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