Why 2026 Is Not 1990 - And Why Abhishek Cannot Play The Mamata Playbook

Last Updated:May 31, 2026, 10:30 IST

Turning personal injury into political capital has often been a part of Mamata Banerjee’s playbook. Is Abhishek Banerjee following his aunt's footsteps?

In 1990, it was a defiant young Mamata Banerjee who faced blows at Hazra More while agitating as a Congress leader. The incident proved to be a turning point in two ways.

First, it established her as a fighter and a mass leader. Even today, a walk through the Trinamool Congress office in Kolkata reveals photographs from that period prominently displayed on its walls.

Second, it set the stage for the eventual formation of the Trinamool Congress. Upset that Congress leaders had not backed her strongly enough, Mamata Banerjee broke away from the party and formed the TMC. The rest, as they say, is history.

Turning personal injury into political capital has often been a part of Mamata Banerjee’s playbook. In 2021, campaigning from a wheelchair while accusing the BJP of attempting to kill her worked politically for the TMC. Although she was not injured during the 2026 election campaign, she repeatedly raised the possibility of being attacked by the BJP. This time, however, the BJP did not rise to the bait, avoiding what many would argue was a mistake it made in 2021.

The question now is whether Abhishek Banerjee is attempting to follow the same formula. Is he hoping that the latest incident, in which stones and eggs were allegedly thrown at him, will establish him politically in the way the Hazra attack helped his aunt in 1990? There are several reasons why that comparison does not hold.

The Bengal of 1990 was very different from the Bengal of 2026. At the time, politics was essentially a bipolar contest between the Congress and the Left Front. There was space for a third alternative, and Mamata Banerjee successfully occupied that space.

The Left was also not a national force, limiting its resources and reach. As aspirations changed and Bengal looked beyond its traditional political choices, the TMC emerged as an alternative. Mamata Banerjee’s fiery speeches and image as a street fighter convinced many people that she could deliver change.

Even in 2021, a wheelchair-bound Mamata was seen by many voters as more acceptable than a BJP leadership perceived as heavy-handed. The TMC’s organisational strength and her long-established image as a political fighter worked in her favour.

Abhishek Banerjee finds himself in a very different situation.

The TMC itself appears under strain. Senior voices within the party have begun speaking out, and many critics place part of the blame on Abhishek Banerjee. Unlike his aunt, the “bhaipo", as he is popularly known, is often viewed by opponents as entitled and tainted by allegations of corruption. As a result, he does not evoke the same sympathy that Mamata Banerjee generated in 1990 or even in 2021.

The BJP, too, is a vastly different opponent from the Left Front of the 1990s. From a party with a marginal presence in Bengal, it has grown into a powerful national organisation. It has significant resources and remains determined to expand its footprint in the state.

Mamata Banerjee is aware that the party may be facing challenges. More importantly, she wants to formally establish Abhishek Banerjee as her political heir. For that transition to succeed, he must gain wider acceptance.

It is perhaps for this reason that Mamata Banerjee rushed to the hospital following the incident involving Abhishek Banerjee. With the INDIA bloc and the entire TMC rallying behind him, she may hope to strengthen his claim to the party’s future leadership.

But Abhishek is not Mamata. Nor is 2026 the same as 1990. And the BJP will ensure that Bengal’s voters are reminded of that difference.

News politics Why 2026 Is Not 1990 - And Why Abhishek Cannot Play The Mamata Playbook

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