Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday visited the Kali Puja organised by former CM Mamata Banerjee’s estranged brother, Swapan (Babun) Banerjee, following up on his pre-poll promise to get the “lotus to bloom” in Kalighat.Mamata had a public fallout with Babun in March 2024, during her tenure as CM, going to the extent of publicly disowning the youngest of her five surviving brothers. He has also had a controversial past during his stints as president of Bengal Olympic Association and in other sports bodies.Adhikari’s visit indicates his intent to sever the Trinamool Congress family from its roots. At least 60 Trinamool MLAs have sided with rebel bloc chief Ritabrata Banerjee, while at least 20 party MPs are now part of the NCPI bloc in Parliament.Babun’s Kali Puja, organised by Kalighat Shivashakti Sangha on Harish Chatterjee Street, is held just a few metres from Mamata’s home at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street. The venue falls in the Bhowanip-ore assembly constituency, which the former CM lost to Adhikari in the April assembly elections.The CM arrived at the puja around 7.20 pm. Babun greeted him with flowers and touched his feet to seek his blessings. Later, when asked about his visit, Adhikari said, “I am the local MLA. Her (Mamata’s) brother invited me, so I came.”After visiting Babun’s puja, the CM walked the entire length of Harish Chatterjee Street, past Mamata’s house, greeting people who had lined the road.“Dada (the CM) said he was very pleased to visit the Kali Puja. I told him we will stand by him. We are happy with the brief interaction. He has a busy schedule and will visit several pujas here. He has previously attended my Jagaddhatri Puja and blood donation camp. He believes in work and will continue to do good work,” Babun said.“Suvendu Adhikari is the people’s chief minister. What I said after the (assembly) elections, I will say today. I will be wherever Dada wants me to be. If he asks me to join his party, I will,” he said, adding, “Didi (Mamata) does not invite me for Bhai Phota now. If she invites me tomorrow, I will not go.”Babun’s relationship with Mamata soured after he objected to the renomination of Howrah MP and former footballer Prasun Banerjee in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, having sought the party ticket for himself and subsequently threatened to contest as an Independent.Mamata retaliated, saying, “I do not like greedy people… Forget that there was any tie between us; there is nothing from today. People are free to choose and contest on their own wherever they want.”Babun tried to appease her, stressing that “Didi is my guardian”, but their relationship remained frosty thereafter.In Oct 2024, he was removed from the post of Hockey Bengal’s president. In Nov 2024, after helming Bengal Olympic Association for four years, he lost the election for its president’s post to Chandan Roy Chowdhury.Babun stepped down as West Bengal Table Tennis Association’s president in Sept 2026, months after BJP formed the govt in the state. He is now joint secretary of Boxing Federation of India and football secretary of Mohun Bagan.The rest of the Banerjee clan — except Mamata’s nephew Abhishek and sister-in-law Kajari (a former councillor) — are not directly involved in electoral politics.Later, the CM interacted with artisans at Patuapara in Kalighat, part of his Bhowanipore constituency, and handed Rs 7,000 to each of the nearly 80 artisans present.“I have instructed the police top brass as well as the OCs of Bhowanipore and Kalighat police stations to ensure that these artisans face no difficulty in carrying out their work before the upcoming Jagadhatri Puja and Kartik Puja, and during the festivals that will follow. I will not hesitate to take action against police if these artisans face any trouble,” Adhikari said.(Written with inputs from Nilesh Bhattacharya in Kolkata)
