The I.N.D.I.A alliance’s decision to induct Abhishek Banerjee, the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) General Secretary and nephew of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee did not come as a surprise in political circles. Abhishek Banerjee has long been touted as the “number two” in the party which Didi, his aunt, founded and she has been ensuring that he accompany her to important meetings, rallies and campaign tours. Though detractors and political opponents, not to mention even a small section of her own party people – among them a few who even defected citing this as a reason – often questioned the “dynastic” political trend arguably inherent in such a decision by the party chief, there is general agreement that there is growing acceptance of Abhishek as Mamata’s rightful political heir. “He is being groomed by his aunt as a future leader of the party – one who belongs to the younger generation – with the same kind of political heirship training which was imparted to the ‘next generation’ by a number of prominent political party leaders, the most famous of which of course is the Gandhi-Nehru family which produced three Indian Prime Ministers,” says Tarun Ganguly, veteran Bengal political analyst.

Abhishek was not only sent on an “outreach” tour across West Bengal before the rural elections held recently so that the people of the state even in the remotest districts can recognize him instantly, he has been honed to speak at public rallies where Didi has given him the freedom to express his ideas as part of future political party programs. Most recently and most significantly, he has been tagging along for the I.N.D.I.A meetings so that he could be projected as Didi’s trusted political heir at the all-India level.

The I.N.D.I.A alliance’s first coordination committee meeting is scheduled for September 13 in Dehli. While there is a question mark on whether Abhishek will be able to attend it because of a summons he has received by the Enforcement Director on the same date for a questioning on an ongoing probe into an education recruitment irregularity, it will be interesting to note how Didi’s nephew takes forward the AITC part of the deal as far as the I.N.D.I.A alliance is concerned. The coordination committee is supposed to be the central decision making power of the I.N.D.I.A alliance and one of the most important agendas of its meetings will be to discuss and decide on “seat-sharing” with the political parties who are partners in the alliance.

In West Bengal of course it is a complicated scenario with two of Trinamool’s most acrimonious political rivals in the state, the Communist Party of India (Marxists) and the Congress being alliance partners in the state. If Abhishek does attend the September 13 meeting, in West Bengal all eyes would be on him because currently the burning question in political circles before the Parliamentary Polls is how much would Congress and The Left concede to Trinamool.

It is of course expected that he will receive a great deal of help from his aunt in the decision making.