The blue two-storied house in the heart of Bolpur town, the epicentre of all political activity in the district till eight months back, wears a deserted look. A few policemen still guard the house which has a small nameplate with several names including that of Anubrata Mondal.
Last August, the Trinamool Congress strongman Anubrata Mondal was arrested for his alleged involvement in the cattle smuggling scam. He is now lodged at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. On April 26, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested his daughter Sukanya Mondal in connection with the cattle smuggling scam on allegations of money laundering. She remains in ED custody in Delhi.
The fact that the police are providing security to a house in which no one lives, highlights the political significance of the house.
Even after an eight-month absence, Anubrata Mondal is central to the politics of the district. He remains the Birbhum district president of the party and in his absence, the party has set up a nine-member committee for organisational work. In March, party chairperson Mamata Banerjee took charge of the party organisation in the district.
The Bolpur party office, about hundred metres from Mr. Mondal’s residence, greets visitors with a single billboard with photographs of both Mamata Banerjee and Anubrata Mondal. There are photographs of the arrested Trinamool leader everywhere in the party office— Anubrata addressing a public gathering; Anubrata and Mamata Banerjee together in another frame. There are two such photographs of Anubrata Mondal on the staircase and four inside a room on the first floor.
On a Friday afternoon, none of the senior party leaders is present in the party office; only a handful of workers mill around the entrance of the party office, keeping a note of visitors in a register.
The arrest of Anubrata Mondal has made the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopeful in the district. Union Home Minister launched the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha poll from Birbhum on April 14 when he set a target of 35 of 42 seats for his party.
In 2019, the BJP had won 18 seats. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari has over the past few months hardly missed an opportunity to take potshots at both Anubrata Mondal and public meetings; he often warns other Trinamool leaders that they will suffer a similar fate.
A day after Sukanya Mondal was arrested, Mr. Adhikari was in Bolpur. He taunted that the Trinamool leadership had assured the party strongman’s daughter that nothing would happen to her, but despite their assurance, she was arrested.
Popularised ‘Khela Hobe’ slogan
The Birbhum district has been politically volatile over the past few years and several incidents of political violence have rocked the district. Last year in March, 10 persons were burnt alive in Bogtui village in a retaliatory killing of a local Trinamool leader. Every time such a violence occurred, fingers were pointed at Anubrata Mondal.
In the 2018 panchayat poll, 34% seats in the district were won uncontested by the ruling party and on being asked why the Opposition was unable to field candidates, the Trinamool leader quipped that “development ( unnayan) was standing on the streets”.
Anubrata Mondal, who popularised the ‘Khela Hobe (Game is on)‘ slogan for the 2021 Assembly poll, was known to speak in political innuendos, making him popular in party circles of the State. Memes and emojis featuring the Trinamool strongman had become a rage on social media. Along with his popularity, Anubrata Mondal had become indispensable for the party organisation and in his absence, the Trinamool is experiencing a void.
“Keshto (Anubrata Mondal) would not only control the district but his influence also was well-known in parts of Murshidabad and Bardhaman. The challenge before the party leadership including those assigned tasks is to win the rural poll,” a former councillor and a Trinamool leader from Bolpur said. Sources within the party said teams of IPAC (Indian Political Action Committee) were closely working in the district to prevent any factionalism costing the party in the upcoming poll.
Fate undecided
Though the Trinamool leadership, particularly Ms. Banerjee, has repeatedly backed Anubrata Mondal so far, his fate remains uncertain. Investigating agencies have seized nearly ₹16 crore from bank accounts of associates and family members of the Trinamool leader. The allegations also include the Birbhum Trinamool leader using lotteries to convert black money into white with him getting lucky twice, with lotteries of ₹80 lakh and ₹52 lakh.
Sources in the party said that days before her arrest, Sukanya Mondal had a meltdown and called up leaders in the party to say that they had disappeared since the arrest of her father. The ED had, a month ago, arrested Anubrata Mondal’s chartered accountant Manish Kothari.
But with political temperatures soaring, the more important question is whether the Trinamool will be able to hold on to Birbhum in the upcoming panchayat poll and the Lok Sabha poll.
In 2019, when the BJP won almost all the seats in north Bengal and south west Bengal, it was in Birbhum that they lost both the Lok Sabha seats and beyond Birbhum in the southern part of the State. The Trinamool won all 20 seats, taking their tally to 22. As the Lok Sabha poll draws near, the Trinamool is increasingly feeling the absence of its key organiser and trusted leader.
“Keshto (Anubrata Mondal) would not only control the district but his influence also was well-known in parts of Murshidabad and Bardhaman”Trinamool leader, Bolpur
