: Thursday, May 21, 2026 9:01 PM
New Delhi. A probe by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) into properties allegedly owned by Trinamool Congress general secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee, his family or his company has posed a political and organizational test for the party. According to reports, these notices were issued under the provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, under which the officials have also visited several places in Kolkata including Shanti Niketan. With a report stating that a notice pasted on the property was later found torn, the incident became a small, but symbolically important, part of the political tug-of-war.
Even when the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool government was in power, critics have been alleging that a large number of properties are registered in the name of youth leader Abhishek Banerjee and his purported company Leaps & Bounds.
The Trinamool Congress has repeatedly rejected such allegations as an attempt to ‘mud-sling’.
According to reports, KMC officials have issued notices regarding some properties belonging to Abhishek Banerjee, demanding approved building plans and related documents.
Its purpose is to check whether the construction works are in accordance with the approved plans and whether any taxes are outstanding.
A Trinamool Congress functionary claimed that the incident gave some leaders within the organization an opportunity to talk to the ‘successor’ (Abhishek Banerjee) on their own terms.
This issue was raised indirectly in a recent meeting. A leader who was once considered close to Abhishek Banerjee reportedly said that there are some topics which need to be discussed in detail.
Senior Trinamool leaders appeared to publicly distance themselves from the development as Abhishek Banerjee is the party’s national general secretary as well as one of its most prominent faces.
KMC itself is a civic body run by Trinamool, so the party cannot easily claim that this action is purely a case of external oppression.
Mayor Firhad Hakim, who is also a four-time Trinamool MLA and former minister in the previous West Bengal cabinet led by Mamata Banerjee. He has distanced himself from that incident.
He denied that he had any knowledge of investigation being initiated against such properties by KMC.
Meanwhile, in a message posted on Facebook late Thursday evening, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh dismissed the allegations as false. He advised people to check the declared assets of Abhishek Banerjee and the properties of the candidate, who has contested the Lok Sabha elections three times from Diamond Harbor, which he has mentioned in the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers.
In 2024, the Trinamool Congress general secretary had declared total assets of over Rs 2.32 crore, while he had debts of around Rs 36 lakh. His personal income in 2022-2023 was Rs 82.58 lakh, which was more than Rs 90.5 lakh and much lower than the income of Rs 1.51 crore declared in the previous financial years.
—
Read this also – Click to read the news of your state/city before the newspaper.
Web Title-Investigation into Abhishek Banerjee’s Alleged Assets Poses Political and Organizational Test for TMC Leadership