The party's internal crisis was further fueled on Tuesday as rivalry among a number of party MPs came out in the open, triggering grave concerns regarding party unity in the wake of the Lok Sabha elections.
The controversy deepened after the BJP IT cell head and central West Bengal observer Amit Malviya posted four video clips on social media pertaining to a hot exchange between TMC MPs Kalyan Banerjee and Kirti Azad on April 4 inside the ECI campus.
Malviya alleged that the clash went beyond that day, with one MP still insulting another colleague known as the "Versatile International Lady (VIL)" in party WhatsApp groups.
Though initially ambiguous, the "VIL" tag was subsequently read to be directed at TMC MP Mahua Moitra, following confirmation by veteran MP Saugata Roy to the media that Moitra and Banerjee had also exchanged blows at the ECI on the same day.
At a later press conference, Kalyan Banerjee mounted the issue to higher levels by launching personal attacks—without directly naming Mahua Moitra—asking her credentials and claiming she played no part in TMC's struggle against Left domination in Bengal. "I won't tolerate anyone just because she is good looking and has good English speaking skills," Banerjee stated. He went on to say he will resign from the party if requested to do so by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee but claimed he would not accept insults.
He also targeted Saugata Roy, referring to the 2016 Narada sting operation case in which Roy had been found accepting bribes. "He has brought disrepute to the party," Banerjee remarked.
Coming to the verbal attack, Roy replied that Banerjee had "lost his mental balance" and that there was no support for his act from any of the party's MPs. "He believes that he can comment on anybody without any repercussions," Roy had said.
During the escalating feud, Amit Malviya also added fuel to the fire by posting about Banerjee's offer to resign on Mamata Banerjee's insistence. "So, now we know who supports him!" Malviya wrote, inferring that Kalyan Banerjee's audacity could be on implicit go-ahead from the top.
The drama unfolding has revealed deep fissures within TMC's parliament wing at a crucial juncture for the party ahead of the general elections.
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