Reported By: Pallavi Ghosh
Last Updated: October 16, 2023, 14:42 IST
There have been complaints to CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee that Mahua Moitra’s ‘lifestyle’ does not align with the Bengali culture. (File photo: PTI)
Mired in controversies ever since she took the plunge into politics, Mahua Moitra takes to social media to post pictures and videos of her dog Henry to shut her detractors
Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress (TMC) member, is called ‘Chor Di’ (younger sister) in her constituency, Krishnanagar. And in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee is also known as ‘Didi’. The similarity between the two leaders extends to the fact that both are feisty, and have faced the cynicism that “they can’t do it”.
An investment banker in New York City and London, Moitra quit her job and returned to India and first joined the Congress in 2010. But after her disillusionment with the party in her home state, West Bengal, she joined the TMC in 2016. Eventually, she contested for the Lok Sabha Elections in 2019 from Krishnanagar and delivered a win despite being labelled as an outsider and having several complaints against her.
Her tryst with controversies also began at that time. Her brashness, calling spade a spade and her don’t-care-a-damn attitude have landed her in trouble with her bosses several times.
Mamata Banerjee rebuked her publicly in 2022 and told her to “remain within her limits” as many from the TMC’s Nadia unit had complained that Moitra was protesting against her own party leaders. Moitra also justified a film poster of Maa Kali (Goddess Durga) with a cigar by saying she too believed that the Goddess was identified with drinking and smoking. At that time too, the TMC had distanced itself from her.
But party’s several attempts to rein in Moitra have failed. There have been complaints to the CM and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee that Moitra’s “lifestyle” does not align with the Bengali culture. That the state has a large number of poor population and her well-turned outlook does not help their case.
Even Moitra’s bags are legendary and a topic of discussions. A sneak peek of her Louis Vuitton bag while Lok Sabha discussed inflation brought her in the eye of the storm. But she walked into Parliament with the same bag the next day and tweeted about it. Those within the TMC don’t get her barbs, but her proximity to leaders from other parties such as Shashi Tharoor has earned her criticism from her party that she prefers outsiders.
Like Tharoor, Moitra’s carefree lifestyle and happy demeanour have always made her “party uneasy”. Everything she does and says becomes a trend. Latest being her dog Rottweiler Henry, which has been a topic of discussion on social media. Even on her bad days (politically), she is known to post pictures and videos of Henry where he is seen “sharing a toast with her”. Those close to Moitra say this is her way of telling her detractors that she does not care. She can be as ferocious and loyal as Henry; her friends vouch for her commitment. But they also say she has been let down by many in her close circle — a taste of what she is currently facing. But will Henry help her bounce back this time again or will she be the fall guy?
