“Our Hon’ble chairperson @MamataOfficial, alongside party leaders and dedicated workers, led a peaceful protest march against the illegal, unjust and deeply inhumane eviction of hawkers across Bengal,” TMC posted on X.

“The people of Bengal have always come first. Their dignity, livelihoods and rights will be defended with unwavering resolve, and in that fight, no stone will be left unturned. The ruthless @BJP4Bengal regime, driven solely by greed for power and blatant disregard for ordinary citizens, will soon collapse under the weight of its own anti-people policies!” it said.

Sources in the TMC said the party chairperson decided to participate in the programme at the request of Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra, another loyalist, who has had a longstanding association with the hawker organisations in Kolkata. Since the BJP government took charge last month, the Railways have carried out hawker evictions on railway land near major stations, including Sealdah, Dum Dum, and Jadavpur. In response, the resistance to these evictions and the use of bulldozers to demolish illegal structures has come from Left party leaders and workers. Many, including CPI(M) leaders Srijan Bhattacharya and Sujan Chakraborty, were arrested during a clash with the police in Jadavpur earlier this month. Other youth leaders such as Minakshi Mukherjee, Mayukh Biswas, and Dipsita Dhar have also relentlessly campaigned against the eviction drive over the past month.

With the TMC losing most of its legislators and parliamentarians in a revolt, and its councillors and workers facing attacks in various parts of the state amid allegations that the party indulged in widespread corruption at the grassroots during its tenure, the TMC was missing from the protests on the ground despite being the primary Opposition party in the state. That changed on Wednesday.

Behind the move

For Banerjee, it is more crucial than before that she is not seen as being absent at a time when the TMC legislature and parliamentary parties have revolted against her. With the matter of who represents the “real TMC” likely to end up in court, Banerjee needs to ensure that she is still seen leading TMC, the political party. In the Subash Desai judgment in 2003, the court had drawn a distinction between a political party and the legislature party, ruling that protection under Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule requires a valid merger involving the original political party as well. With TMC rebel MLA and current Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee hinting that efforts are underway to take control of the party’s organisational leadership as well, Banerjee needed to enthuse the cadre still with her but likely to be demoralised over the recent events.

“In the past, Mamata Banerjee has grabbed control of movements from others. During the Singur and Nandigram movements, she did the same thing. Now, when she realises that the Opposition space is gradually eroding, she desperately jumped back into protest mode to regain it,” said one of the TMC’s senior rebel MLAs.

“Ultimately, Mamata Banerjee took to the streets in protest,” said CPI(M) Central Committee member Sujan Chakraborty. “However, she did not say a single word against hawker eviction. The Left has been fighting against hawker eviction on the streets and in court from the very first day. We will continue the fight. Mamata Banerjee is now trying to hijack that movement, but it will not happen,” said Chakraborty, a former MP.