The party chief whip in the Lok Sabha, a longtime colleague of the TMC supremo, is embroiled in another controversy, this time involving other party leaders.
Kalyan Banerjee’s enduring presence in the Trinamool Congress (TMC), despite his frequent entanglements in controversy, is not hard to explain. A neighbor of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata’s Kalighat, a longtime acquaintance of the Chief Minister, a legal advocate handling complex cases for the party, and a seasoned politician with four Lok Sabha terms and one stint as an MLA, the 68-year-old wears many hats. Often mistaken for a relative of Mamata due to their shared surname and close ties, Kalyan Banerjee has recently grabbed headlines for his escalating disputes, most notably a fiery clash with fellow TMC MP Mahua Moitra and others.
The latest episode began with a disagreement over Moitra’s missing signature on a document Banerjee, as the party’s Lok Sabha chief whip, was set to submit to the Election Commission regarding duplicated electoral IDs. Though the TMC initially contained the fallout—including Moitra’s alleged call to security to “arrest” Banerjee—the irrepressible MP aired the conflict publicly. Responding to a post by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, Banerjee held a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, where he avoided naming Moitra but described her as “a versatile international lady” whose contributions to the party amounted to little beyond “good looks” and English fluency. He also took swipes at MPs Saugata Roy and Kirti Azad. While Moitra and Azad stayed silent, Roy labeled Banerjee a “repeat offender” and demanded his removal as chief whip. Reports suggest Moitra has escalated the matter to Mamata herself.
Roy told The Indian Express that most TMC MPs disapprove of Banerjee’s conduct, expressing hope that Mamata would act. “He habitually makes derogatory remarks about other MPs, especially women,” Roy said. A senior TMC figure close to Mamata’s family noted, “Kalyan has always leveraged his proximity to Mamata. His rise in the party owes much to his legal acumen and street-smart instincts.”
Banerjee’s political journey mirrors Mamata’s in some ways. A law graduate who practiced at the Calcutta High Court, he began with the Congress, staying close to Mamata through the Youth Congress. When she founded the TMC in 1998, Banerjee was among her early loyalists. His first electoral win came in 2001 as an MLA from Asansol, and as Mamata’s influence grew, so did his. He played a key role in navigating the TMC through high-profile legal battles, including cases tied to Rizwanur Rahman’s death, the Chhoto Angaria killings, Bhikhari Paswan’s custodial death, and the Singur-Nandigram agitations. Over time, he rose to prominence as a senior advocate in both the High Court and Supreme Court.
In 2009, Banerjee entered national politics, winning the Sreerampore Lok Sabha seat—a feat he repeated in 2014, 2019, and 2024. With this shift, his bold and unpredictable style gained a wider audience. That same year, his comments on then-West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s personal habits sparked Left-led protests. In December 2023, he stirred outrage by mimicking Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Parliament grounds, an act filmed by Rahul Gandhi amid a chaotic session. Dhankhar called it “shameful, ridiculous, and unacceptable.”
Banerjee’s penchant for controversy continued into 2024. During the Lok Sabha campaign, he faced backlash for remarks on CPI(M) leader Dipsita Dhar’s complexion and dubbed Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia a “lady killer,” later apologizing. In a post-election Parliament speech, he mocked the BJP’s failure to hit its “400-plus” seat target with a playful reference to the Bengali game chu-kit-kit, quipping, “Chu mein 400… then kit kit kit kit kit kit,” leaving the House in laughter.
As a member of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in October 2024, Banerjee smashed a glass bottle during a heated exchange with BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay, inviting disciplinary scrutiny. Earlier this year, he criticized TMC ministers in Bengal, declaring, “I am here because Didi is here… After seeing her ministers’ behavior, I no longer want to stay in the party.” Though he later softened his stance, promising to air grievances constructively within the party, a senior Calcutta High Court advocate remarked, “Kalyan’s aggressive, outspoken nature and abrasive language were well-known in court. These controversies are hardly surprising.”
