For years, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) marked July 21 as 'Shahid Diwas' (Martyrs’ Day) with a display of political dominance that few rivals in West Bengal could match. The rally in Kolkata’s Dharmatala neighbourhood drew vast crowds, showcased defections from opposition parties and often served as a stage for Mamata Banerjee, the party’s founder, to sketch the contours of the next political battle.
This year, party leaders and political observers say, the rally is taking on a more defensive purpose: demonstrating that the organisation still exists as a coherent force after a rebellion that has torn through its ranks.
TMC, founded in 1998 after Banerjee broke away from the Congress party, is facing what many within the organisation describe as the gravest crisis in its history. After losing power in West Bengal, it has watched a stream of MPs, MLAs and senior leaders defect to a rival faction led by the state’s opposition leader, Ritabrata Banerjee.
In response, the faction led by Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee has adopted a new slogan ahead of the annual gathering: 'Amra Beiman Noi' (We are not traitors). The message was prominently displayed at a preparatory meeting organised on Thursday by Kunal Ghosh, the party’s North Kolkata district president.
Speaking to workers by phone, Mamata urged loyalists to remain united. “Those who still have good sense should return. Those who have left are neither here nor there. We cannot sell the party for money,” she said.
“Even if only five workers remain with us, we will go to Dharmatala on July 21,” the former chief minister added.
To many in the state’s political class, the remark captured how sharply the party’s circumstances have changed.
Earlier July 21 rallies often resembled political carnivals, with celebrity appearances, cultural programmes, fleets of buses bringing supporters from across the state and a steady parade of leaders crossing over from rival parties.
The event commemorates the 13 Youth Congress activists killed in police firing during a protest in Kolkata in 1993. Over time, it evolved into the Trinamool’s largest annual political showcase.
Now, party insiders acknowledge an uncomfortable irony: the culture of defections that once helped build the TMC’s dominance has become a source of vulnerability.
“The challenge before us is different this time. The focus is on those workers and leaders who stood by the party during difficult times but perhaps never received the recognition they deserved,” Ghosh told party workers.
According to TMC leaders close to Banerjee, this year’s mobilisation effort is aimed less at recruiting new faces than at reassuring grassroots workers unsettled by the organisational collapse that followed the party’s electoral defeat.
“There are thousands of workers who stayed despite intimidation, despite losing power and despite offers from other camps. They are the backbone of the organisation. This July 21 is for them,” a senior leader close to the party leadership said.
The rebel camp rejects that narrative, arguing that the exodus reflects a failure of leadership rather than a crisis of loyalty.
“When MPs, MLAs, district leaders and grassroots workers leave in such large numbers, the problem cannot be explained away by calling everyone a traitor. The leadership is refusing to accept the verdict of its own workers,” a senior leader aligned with Ritabrata Banerjee said.
Ritabrata himself framed the dispute in similar terms.
“The issue is not betrayal. The issue is that a handful of people monopolised the party for years and ignored genuine workers. Today, those workers are seeking an alternative political future. Labelling them traitors will not solve the crisis,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mamata has continued to attack the dissidents, arguing that many changed sides after the BJP came to power in order to protect their own interests. “Workers fought and got them elected. Today, they are joining hands with those they fought against. Those who betrayed the party cannot be forgiven,” she said in her address.
The preparations are unfolding amid legal scrutiny as well.
The Calcutta High Court recently directed notices to Mamata and Abhishek in connection with a public interest litigation linked to an alleged violation of court directives during a 2018 programme at Dharmatala.
Yet analysts say the more immediate challenge for the Trinamool is organisational, not legal.
With the party split, its symbol under challenge and many former loyalists now aligned with a rival camp, the July 21 rally is no longer simply a commemorative event or a platform for announcing future strategy.
Instead, it has become a public measure of whether the party can still command loyalty after one of the most dramatic ruptures in its history.
As one senior Trinamool leader put it: “Earlier, the question was how many new people would join us on July 21. This year, the question is how many are still willing to stay.”
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)