Suvendu Adhikari Visits Kalighat Kali Puja as Mamata Banerjee's Estranged Brother Pledges Support

The front door remained shut.

Two houses down, the scene was entirely different. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari strode directly into the historic Kalighat citadel of his predecessor, Mamata Banerjee, attending a Kali Puja organised by her estranged brother, Babun Banerjee. The choreography was lethal in its political symbolism. Adhikari walked past the former Chief Minister’s private residence—the undisputed nerve centre of Bengal’s executive power for more than a decade—to receive an effusive public welcome from her own blood relative.

Babun Banerjee bent down, touched Adhikari’s feet, draped a ceremonial garland around his neck, and declared unconditional political backing for the Chief Minister. With Babun Banerjee’s family gathered around, Adhikari stepped before the idol of Goddess Kali at the Kalighat Sebak Sangha pandal, folded his hands, and performed aarti.

Foot-Touching and Aarti at Kalighat Sebak Sangha

Precincts that once ran strictly on the writ of Mamata Banerjee suddenly echoed with chants for her arch-rival. Babun Banerjee pulled no punches about where his loyalties now sit.

Hearing Mamata Banerjee's own sibling endorse Adhikari for a repeat term as Chief Minister laid bare the total collapse of domestic unity in Kalighat. Adhikari, who broke away from Banerjee's cabinet in December 2020 after years as her key lieutenant, has systematically turned the screws on his former political patron. He recently dared Banerjee to re-enter the electoral battlefield, charging that the former Chief Minister was reduced to "bowing at Congress’ feet for relevance."

Fractures in the Family and Post-Poll Rancour

The bad blood inside the household has festered for months. The estrangement between the siblings began before the state assembly elections and exploded into public hostility after the Trinamool Congress suffered its crushing electoral defeat. Babun Banerjee launched a blistering critique against Trinamool’s senior hierarchy, blaming the backroom brass for the rout. He revealed that his sister had disowned him long ago.

Neither Mamata Banerjee nor Trinamool Congress senior leadership issued an immediate statement regarding the spectacle outside her doorstep. With Adhikari consolidating his six-month executive tenure and stepping up public challenges across South Kolkata, the battle for political supremacy in the state heads into an aggressive winter assembly session.