All India Trinamool Congress

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All India Trinamool Congress
AbbreviationAITC
LeaderMamata Banerjee
PresidentSubrata Bakshi
ChairpersonMamata Banerjee
General SecretaryAbhishek Banerjee
Parliamentary ChairpersonSudip Bandyopadhyay
Lok Sabha leaderSudip Bandyopadhyay
Rajya Sabha leaderDerek O' Brien
FounderMamata Banerjee
Founded1 January 1998 (23 years ago) (1998-01-01)
Split fromIndian National Congress
Headquarters30B Harish Chatterjee Street, Kolkata 700026
NewspaperJago Bangla (Bengali)
Student wingTrinamool Chaatra Parishad
Youth wingAll India Trinamool Youth Congress
Women's wingAll India Trinamool Mahila Congress
Labour wingAll India Trinamool Trade Union Congress
Peasant's wingAll India Trinamool Kisan Congress
IdeologySecularism[1]
Populism[1][2]
Anti-communism[3]
Progressivism[4]
Political positionCentre-left[1]
Colours  Green
ECI StatusNational party
AllianceFederal Front (2018–Present)
Seats in Lok Sabha
22 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
12 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies
Indian states
Number of states and union territories in government
1 / 31
Election symbol
All India Trinamool Congress symbol 2021.svg
Party flag
All India Trinamool Congress flag.svg
Website
aitcofficial.org

The All India Trinamool Congress (abbr. AITC or TMC; translation: All India Grassroots Congress) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal.[5] The party is led by chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, who has led the state since 2011. Following the 2019 general election, it is currently the fourth-largest party in the Lok Sabha with 22 seats.[6]

History[]

Founding[]

After being a member of the Indian National Congress for over 26 years, Mamata Banerjee established the AITC, which was registered with the Election Commission of India during mid-December 1997. The Election Commission allotted to the party an exclusive symbol of Jora Ghas Phul. In the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, TMC won 7 seats. In the next Lok Sabha election that was held in 1999, Trinamool Congress won 8 seats with BJP, thus increasing its tally by one.[7] In 2000, TMC won the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Elections.

The party initially joined the National Democratic Alliance, as part of the Vajpayee government, and were initially quite successful, winning 7 seats in its first election in 1998.[8][9] In the 2001 Vidhan Sabha elections, the AITC won 60 seats in alliance with the INC, becoming the principal opposition party.[10] They suffered big losses in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections[11] and the 2006 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election,[9][12] and subsequently left the NDA.

Nandigram movement[]

Main article: Nandigram violence

In December 2006, the people of Nandigram were given notice by Haldia Development Authority that a major portion of Nandigram would be seized and 70,000 people be evicted from their homes to make way for a chemical plant.[13] People started movement against this land acquisition and the AITC helped lead the movement. The Bhumi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) was formed to protest against the eviction. On 14 March 2007 the police opened fire and killed 14 villagers and many more went missing. Many sources claimed (and which was supported by the Central Bureau of Investigation in its report) that armed Communist Party of India (Marxist) cadres, along with police, fired on protesters in Nandigram[14] Many intellectuals protested in the streets and this incident gave birth to a new movement. SUCI (C) leader Nanda Patra led the movement. The events led to a significant backlash against the CPI(M) government, and were a major factor in the AITC's success in the elections that followed.[2]

Post-Nandigram/Singur elections[]

Main article: Singur Tata Nano controversy

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, Trinamool Congress won 19 seats in West Bengal, in alliance with the Congress. They subsequently became a part of Manmohan Singh's government, with Banerjee serving as Minister of Railways.

In the 2010 Kolkata municipal election, the party won 97 out of 141 seats. It also won a majority of other municipalities.[15]

In government[]

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and Chairperson of All India Trinamool Congress.

In the 2011 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress-led alliance that included the INC and SUCI(C) won 227 seats in the 294-seat legislature, defeating the incumbent Left Front government which had been in power for 34 years.[3][16][17] Trinamool Congress alone won 184 seats, enabling it to govern without an alliance. Subsequently, it won a by-election in Basirhat and two Congress MLAs switched to the AITC, giving it a total of 187 seats. Banerjee, an MP at the time, had not contested the election and had to transfer to the safe seat of Bhabanipur.[18]

On 18 September 2012 Banerjee announced her decision to withdraw support to the UPA after the AITC's demands to undo government-instituted changes including FDI in retail, increase in the price of diesel and limiting the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders for households, were not met.[19][20]

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections saw the AITC dominate the state, winning 34 out of the 42 seats. It also qualified for national party status, as the AITC had received 6% of the vote from five different states (West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam).[21][22] On 2 September 2016 the Election Commission recognized AITC as a national political party.[23]

The party was reelected in the 2016 election to a supermajority government, and Banerjee continued as chief minister.[24]

The party won the most seats in West Bengal in the 2019 Indian general election, but suffered significant losses to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which for the first time established itself as a major force in the state.[25][26] After the election, the party's status came under revision by the Election Commission of India, due to a loss in presence in most states outside West Bengal.[27]

Banerjee's government was reelected again in the 2021 state election by an unexpectedly large margin over the BJP. Prior to the election, several high-profile AITC members such as Mukul Roy and Suvendu Adhikari had defected to the BJP. Despite the large winning margin, Banerjee was defeated by Adhikari in the Nandigram seat,[28] where she had transferred to fight Adhikari head-on.[4]

Presence in other states[]

Tripura[]

In 2010, Tripura Pradesh Trinamool Congress was working in Tripura to establish an AITC government in the state.[15]

Under the leadership of former leader of opposition and then MLA of Tripura, Sudip Roy Barman, all six INC MLAs defected to the AITC in 2016 along with many ex ministers, ex members of legislative assembly, senior state and district leaders along with thousands of party workers and supporters who joined AITC to fight the communists in Tripura.[29] Barman himself later defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party along with all of the other AITC MLAs of Tripura Legislative Assembly in the presence of Himanta Biswa Sarma and Dharmendra Pradhan after they cross voted against party lines in the 2017 Indian presidential election.[30]

Manipur[]

In the 2012 assembly elections of Manipur, AITC won 8 seats, got 10% of the total votes & became the only opposition party in the Manipur Legislative Assembly.[31] In the 2017 assembly elections the party won only one seat from Thanga & polled 5.4% of the total votes cast in the elections.[32] Its lone Member of Legislative Assembly, Tongbram Robindro Singh, supported the BJP government in Manipur in 2017. Later, Robindro Singh withdrew support from the Bharatiya Janata Party following the disqualification of 7 of its members to grant support the Indian National Congress as of 18 June 2020.[33]

Arunachal Pradesh[]

Independent MLA Chakat Aboh, of the Khonsa West constituency, joined the party on 1 January 2021, becoming the first member of the party in the Legislative Assembly there.

Assam[]

In the 2001 Assam Legislative Assembly election, Jamal Uddin Ahmed won Badarpur constituency. He was a Trinamool Congress candidate.[34]

Electoral performance[]

General election results[]

Lok Sabha Elections
Year LokSabha Party leader Seats Fight Seats won Seats +/- Vote % Vote swing Ref.
1998 12th Lok Sabha Mamata Banerjee 29
7 / 29
 Increase 7 2.42% – [35]
1999 13th Lok Sabha 29
8 / 29
 Increase 1 2.57% Increase 0.15% [36]
2004 14th Lok Sabha 33
2 / 33
 Decrease 6 2.07% Decrease 0.5% [37]
2009 15th Lok Sabha 26
19 / 26
 Increase 17 3.20% Increase 1.15% [38]
2014 16th Lok Sabha 42
34 / 42
 Increase 15 3.84% Increase 0.64% [39]
2019 17th Lok Sabha 42
22 / 42
 Decrease 12 4.11% Increase 0.27% [40]

State Legislative Assembly Elections[]

Vote share in consecutive West Bengal Assembly elections
2021
 
 47.94%
2016
 
 44.91%
2011
 
 38.93%
2006
 
 26.64%
2001
 
 30.66%
Legislative Assembly Elections[41]
Election Year Party leader Seats contested Seats won Change in seats Percentage of votes Vote swing Popular vote Result
2001 Bengal Election Mamata Banerjee 226
60 / 294
 Increase 60 30.66% – 11,229,396 Opposition
7
1 / 126
 Increase 1 – Others
2006 Bengal Election Mamata Banerjee 257
30 / 294
 Decrease 30 26.64% Decrease 4.02% 10,512,153 Opposition
2011 Bengal Election Mamata Banerjee 226
184 / 294
 Increase 154 38.93% Increase 12.29% 18,547,678 Government
2012 Manipur Election Maibam Kunjo 60
7 / 60
 Increase 7 17% – 237,517 Opposition
2012 UP Election 1
1 / 403
 Increase 1 – Others
2016 Bengal Election Mamata Banerjee 293
211 / 294
 Increase 27 44.91% Increase 5.98% 24,564,523 Government
2017 Manipur Election 60
1 / 60
 Decrease 6 1.4 Decrease15.6 23,304 Others
2021 Bengal Election Mamata Banerjee 290
213 / 294
 Increase 2 47.94% Increase 3.03% 28,735,420 Government

Political slogan[]

Main article: Ma Mati Manush

Ma Mati Manush (Bengali: মা মাটি মানুষ) was primarily a slogan, coined by All India Trinamool Congress chief and current Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The term is literally translated as "Mother, Motherland and People". The slogan became very popular in West Bengal at the time of the 2011 assembly election. Later, Mamata Banerjee wrote a Bengali book with the same title.[42] A song was also recorded with the same title to glorify the theme. According to a report published in June 2011, it was one of the six most popular political slogans in India at that time.[43]

Leadership[]

The highest decision-making body of the party is its Core Committee.

  • Mamata Banerjee – Founder,[44] National Chairperson, Leader of the party in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and Chief Minister of West Bengal.
  • Yashwant Sinha – National Vice President. Ex Finance Minister Of India.
  • Abhishek Banerjee- General Secretary of All India Trinamool Congress.
  • Subrata Mukherjee – Cabinet Minister, Panchayat and Public Health Engineering, Govt of WB.
  • Derek O'Brien -National Spokesperson and Leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha.
  • Partha Chatterjee – General Secretary (West Bengal Trinamool Congress), Deputy Leader of the party in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.
  • Sudip Bandyopadhyay – Leader of the party in the Lok Sabha.
  • Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar – Deputy leader of the party in the Lok Sabha.
  • Kalyan Banerjee – Chief whip of the party in the Lok Sabha.
  • Sukhendu Shekhar Roy -Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha.
  • Firhad Hakim – Hon'ble Chairman, Board of Administration, KMC and Cabinet Minister, Transport Dept, Govt of West Bengal.
  • Subrata Bakshi – State President in West Bengal. MP, Rajya Sabha
  • Neeraj Rai - State President in Uttar Pradesh
  • Asishlal Singh - State President in Tripura
  • Manjeet Singh - State President in Punjab
  • Sushmita Dev - State President in Assam
  • Manoj Sankaranellur - State President in Kerala
  • Dr.Sabitha - State President in Tamil Nadu

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)". elections.in.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Bhaumik, Subir (13 May 2011). "Defeat rocks India's elected communists - Features". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "The Anti-Communist of West Bengal". Forbes. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "'India's soul at stake': Bengalis vote in divisive election". The Guardian. 26 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Lok Sabha Elections 2014: Know your party symbols!". Daily News and Analysis. 10 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Membersaspects :of Lok Sabha". loksabha.niccivilisation.in.
  7. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1999 to the 13th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India.
  8. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1998 to the 12th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mamata, the street-fighting politician and Left nemesis". India Today. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Key Highlights of General Election, 2001 to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal" (PDF). Election Commission of India.
  11. ^ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India.
  12. ^ "Why did the NDA lose West Bengal?". Rediff. 14 May 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Nandigram says 'No!' to Dow's chemical hub". International Action Center – Boston. December 2007. Archived from the original on 6 July 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
  14. ^ "CPM cadres joined cops to fire, now beating up witnesses: CBI". Indian Express. 19 December 2007.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mamata wins Bengal civic polls, demands early elections". NDTV. 2 June 2010.
  16. ^ Bardhan, Pranab (11 February 2012). "WHY THE LEFT FRONT LOST WEST BENGAL: Poor Governance or Enhanced Accountability Standards?" (PDF). International Growth Centre. 1: 41 – via International Growth Centre.
  17. ^ "Mamata ends 34-year-old Left Front rule in Bengal". The Hindu Business Line. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
  18. ^ "Mamata Banerjee wins assembly bypoll". PTI, 28 September 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Rupee falls after TMC pulls out from government". Moneycontrol.com. 20 September 2012.
  20. ^ "Mamata Banerjee's party ready to meet President tomorrow to officially quit UPA". NDTV. 20 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Archive of General Election 2014". Election Commission of India. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015.
  22. ^ PTI (2 September 2016). "Trinamool Congress recognised as national party". thehindu.com. New Delhi: The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2020. It is a recognised State party in West Bengal, Manipur, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh, satisfying one of the conditions of the Election Commission.
  23. ^ "Trinamool Congress gets national party status". Indian Express. 2 September 2016.
  24. ^ "West Bengal Election Results 2016: TMC storms back to power in Bengal, Cong-Left alliance loses". The Financial Express (India). 20 May 2016.
  25. ^ Election results 2019: Bengal votes for the BJP, breaks many stereotypes, The Hindu BusinessLine, 23 May 2019.
  26. ^ WB Election Result Highlights: BJP creates history in Bengal, livemint, 24 May 2019.
  27. ^ Sujit Nath (20 July 2019). "Why Did TMC, CPI, NCP Fail to Meet National Party Status When NPP Made It? An Explainer". News18.com. Kolkata: Network 18. Retrieved 11 May 2020. Due to several political developments over the past few years, the EC wants the three political parties to respond on why their ‘national party’ status should not be taken away.
  28. ^ "Election Commission of India". results.eci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  29. ^ Six Congress MLAs in Tripura join Trinamool
  30. ^ "Recognise Ex-TMC MLAs as BJP Members in Tripura: BJP".
  31. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 2012 to the Legislative Assembly of Manipur". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  32. ^ Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur. "Report - General Election to Lok Sabha, 2019" (PDF). ceomanipur.nic.in. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Mess in Manipur". The Indian Express. 1 June 2020.
  34. ^ "Assam Assembly Election Results in 2001". www.elections.in.
  35. ^ "Statistical report on general elections, 1998 to the Twelfth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  36. ^ "Statistical report on general elections, 1999 to the Thirteenth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  37. ^ "Statistical report on general elections, 2004 to the Fourteenth Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  38. ^ "LS 2009 : Performance of National Parties" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  39. ^ "LS 2014 : List of successful candidates" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 93. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  40. ^ "LS 2019 : List of successful candidates". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  41. ^ "West Bengal Assembly Election Results". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  42. ^ Maa Mati Manush. Menaka Books. ISBN 978-93-5080-024-9.
  43. ^ "Six popular contemporary slogans". DNA India. 28 July 2011.
  44. ^ "West Bengal | History, Culture, Map, Capital, & Population". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 21 September 2018.

External links[]

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