During her last visit to Delhi, Mamata Banerjee was suddenly asked by a journalist if she had any plans to take a page out of Mayawati’s book and declare her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the only member of her family who is in politics, as her successor.
The question was triggered by Mayawati formally naming her nephew, Akash Anand, son of her younger brother Anand Kumar, as her successor a week or so earlier. But it was still a timely and pertinent question considering the sharp spurt in feuding and squabbling in the Trinamool Congress between Mamata and Abhishek loyalists. And there is no denying that the factionalism is showing the party in rather poor light at a time when it should be putting its best foot forward.
Mamata coolly replied that Trinamool Congress is like a family, and when the time comes the whole family will decide on who would inherit her political mantle. I think that Mamata, unlike Mayawati, has deliberately kept the succession question “open” in order to keep her party united and curb infighting ahead of general elections which is knocking at the door.
But while Mamata may have wisely refrained from officially declaring Abhishek her political heir, he is for all intents and purpose her successor, just as Anand is now Mayawati’s. That Abhishek is only Mamata’s heir-apparent -- and not her anointed successor -- doesn’t undermine his position in any way.