Decoding TMC’s Campus Grip: No Elections, No Accountability, Just Control

In terms of electoral impact, sexual violence remains at the lowest rung even in the only woman-led state of India.

Protests broke out in Kolkata after the rape of a law student on 25 June but despite similarities with the RG Kar rape-murder case, the response remained relatively tepid as compared to the tempestuous 'Abhaya' protests last year.

(Photo: PTI/Altered by Aroop Mishra/The Quint)

For many women from West Bengal like Purabi Dutta, 'Raat Dokhol Koro' (reclaim the night) was not just a catchy slogan. It was a call to action. A call to reclaim lost freedoms, and acknowledge the universal denial of the rights of women.

A year ago, the call rang out across parts of the state, night after night, following the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor inside the government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Purabi, a resident of Howrah in her sixties, was not much interested in news or politics until the incident.

But once she saw the women marching on the streets, something inside her shook. "There were protests at Mandir Tala, Shibpur... all local neighbourhoods. It was probably the first time women in Howrah were protesting like that. And they demanded punishment fo crimes committed against women," she tells The Quint.

Dutta joined as well.

As doctors, civil society professionals, and just simple, ordinary citizens took to the streets, the media was flooded with criticism of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government and its mishandling of the case. Questions and allegations were raised over the party's corruption and links to the alleged perpetrators of the crime.

And yet, just three months after the incident, when six seats including Purabi's home district Medinipur, about 100-150 km south of Howrah, went to bypoll in November, each constituency elected the TMC. The party, which was in the eye of the storm for allegedly shielding the perpetrators, had even won a seat—Madarihat—which it had never won before, wresting it from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which had won it in 2021.

RG Kar Rape Case to Now

A similar crime has once again unfolded in Kolkata, this time inside South Calcutta Law College campus where a law student was allegedly raped on 25 June. The accused, including the prime accused Manojit Mishra, was an alumnus and member (and former unit president) of the ruling party's student wing Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), who possessed local clout on campus.

He, much like the key accused in the RG Kar case, was a contractual recruit with multiple previous offences, working as 'staff' inside the campus upon receiving approval from the college body led by TMC leader Ashok Deb.

Unlike last year, public response was more measured. Days after the incident, the streets were visibly quieter. There was a murmur of discontent, and pockets of picketing and marching in Kolkata, including in Jadavpur and Gariahat. But for the most part, it was business as usual.

"It's as if people have got used to the cycle of 'rape, protest, repeat'," a student of the government-run law college tells The Quint on condition of anonymity, much like most other students who seemed scared of a reaction from the students' body, and thus reticent to discuss openly.

TMC Monopoly

What the students did want to discuss was why there had not been any elections in the colleges since 2017.

"It has been eight years since the last students' union election was conducted. The TMC is just so scared of dissent that it has been pushing elections. In the absence of student body polls, there is complete anarchy in colleges across Calcutta University," City College professor and women's rights activist Saswati Ghosh tells The Quint. 

"The TMCP won 111 out of the 840 total seats in the 2017 elections in CU. It holds monopolistic power in colleges and the same set of students like Manojit Mishra continue to hold key positions despite having completed their studies."

Dr Saswati Ghosh, Professor

Outside of college campuses and civil society, though, sexual violence seems to be of little electoral relevance. The November 2024 bypolls were a litmus test of sorts for the TMC to ascertain how much damage the largely Left Front-led RG Kar protests had on its electoral fortunes. Though internal TMC surveys showed a dip in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's popularity, her voter base remained untouched.

"When the bypolls took place, RG Kar protests were still on. The fact that the TMC did a clean sweep shows that despite the protests, widespread public anger against the TMC failed to convert into electoral action," says Calcutta-based journalist Snigdhendu Bhattacharya.

In rural areas, especially, Didi's women vote bank remains nearly unaffected by these protests or outrage. And there's reason for it.

"If you think of it, sexual harassment happens everywhere. The media creates a hue and cry only when it's urban. It's true that RG Kar and the law college incidents happened on campus, raising alarm about lack of security. But in rural belts, what security do women have anyway?," Bhattacharya asks. "For them, social and financial benefits matter more than urban leadership-led protests".

Political scientist Sibaji Pratim Basu echoes the surmise.

"What we are witnessing is a distinction between the state's social and political realities. Yes, there are incidents of sexual violence. But that is not party-specific, meaning it unfortunately persists across the spectrum. When it comes to voting, voters, including women, factor in multiple things."

Sibaji Pratim Basu

Benefits over Safety

The TMC runs several schemes intended for women, including Lakshmir Bhandar, Rupashree, Swasthya Sathi, and Kanyashree. These schemes, with thousands of beneficiaries across socio-economic strata, aim to provide financial assistance, healthcare benefits, and support for education and marriage.

Hooghly district resident Anusuya Dey, 33, who has just become a mother after a complicated pregnancy, attests to the benefits of welfare schemes. She says the Swasthya Sathi card, which offers Rs 5 lakh annual medical coverage at no cost to the citizen, was extremely helpful. Due to her age and existing PCOS conditions, she needed an emergency C-section as well as a few days of hospitalisation. Since it was her first and probably only chance to naturally conceive a baby, she decided to go for a private hospital.

"I have a job at a local office and my husband works too. But even with both our incomes, we could not have afforded a private surgical procedure and care without the Swasthya Sathi card," Dey, whose husband is a BJP voter, states.

Purabi, who has also traditionally been a Left voter, believes the cash transfer scheme has been helpful for all women, especially those who like her are not earning or are widows. These schemes held bridge an ideological divide that voters may feel with the party, analysts like Basu feel.

Welfarism was once the calling card of the Left. But though it has been spearheading people's movements like the doctors' protests last year, Basu states that the party has lost connect with voters, especially in rural regions of south and north Bengal. The BJP, too, is organisationally limited so far and has only managed to capitalise on communal identity politics like the Murshidabad riots.

With the TMC, there is a party that has so far managed to stave off a strong Opposition force in the BJP, in power at the Centre and largely seen as a party of outsiders by many in Bengal. Moreover, the latter's track record with women in other states also makes it vulnerable to counterattacks. On ground, the TMC is visibly pro-woman with a vociferous woman at its helm. It isn't just about economics.

Supriya Sarkar, a 28-year-old TMC party worker from Shibpur, says the party has empowered women like her who come from marginalised strata to find their political voice.

"It gives me a presence in society, in brings the family respect and it allows us to help our local community in their need. We become local representatives," she tells The Quint.

Recently, on her son's fifth birthday, Sarkar had invited a local MLA to her home as 'chief guest' for a little celebration.

"It made us feel seen," she chirps. When asked about the recent rape case, she was quick to retort with the party line. "The party condemns all cases of violence against rape. Perpetrators should and will be punished."

TMC Learning From Past Mistakes?

There are some key differences in the RG Kar and the law college incidents, which perhaps may explain the lack of protests.

In case of the former, the parents of the victim had insisted on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the matter, and not Kolkata Police, which from the beginning had been facing allegations of a botch-up. In case of the law student, the parents and the victim approached Kolkata Police. This time, the police were prompt in action. All three accused, including Mishra, have been arrested.

The fact that the complainant fortunately survived also adds to the unfortunate lack of media outrage.

After last year's debacle, the TMC seems to have learnt from its mistakes too, says Basu. Apart from the errant comments made by MLA Madan Mitra and MP Kalyan Banerjee, which the party was quick to distance itself from, TMC leaders have "overall resisted from making too many loose comments as the TMC is often wont to do," he says.

Nevertheless, students and urban intelligentsia have been growing acutely aware of the culture of impunity that has seemingly been festering under nearly 15 years of TMC rule. "We are truly scared for our own and for our daughters' or female relatives' safety," Ghosh says.

She pointed out the irony that despite tbeing a member of the TMCP and coming from a family of TMC workers, the law student wasn't able to assure her own safety.

"It reminds me of the 2014 Hok Kolorob protests following allegations of sexual harassment by a student inside a Jadavpur University hostel," she adds. Even in that case, the girl came from a TMC-connected family and the perpetrator had alleged links to the party's student wing. She was not spared by the perpetrator in spite of her connections and despite humongous protests, the case eventually was shoved under the carpet.

"I wonder what happened to that girl. Wonder what would happen to this girl," Ghosh sighs.

Politically, the Opposition has been amping up its pressure on TMC regarding women's safety.

While the BJP tried to capitalise on the Sandeshkhali incident, the Left has directly and indirectly supported the 'Abhaya' protests. Even in this case, Opposition leaders have been quick to question the accused's links to TMC leaders.

Activists and students, in the meantime, feel that wider movements for gender are needed across the state and its institutions, especially educational institutions, to ensure women and safety of gender minorities and parties need to lead by example.

But on the ladder of electoral sops, freedom from sexual violence remains at the lowest rung even in the only woman-led state of India.