Rebel With(Out) A Cause? Why Mahua Moitra, Controversy’s Favourite Child, Reminds TMC Boss Mamata of Herself

Expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra does not live by the rules.

When social media and some BJP MPs accused her of hiding her expensive LV bag during a discussion on inflation in the Lower House, Moitra hit back the next day by carrying the same bag, flaunting it and making the point that with her, there is no hiding, no discretion and following of rules — Like when she stoked controversy by showing the middle finger during a live TV show.

Moitra may have been reprimanded publicly by her boss Mamata Banerjee in her constituency Nadia when she was told to be a team player, but her firebrand speeches were hard to ignore, forcing the TMC to take note of her.

Initially, as the controversy over log-in credentials broke out, TMC was reticent. But sources say Banerjee saw a bit of herself in Moitra — the same taking on corporates and the powers that be, the don’t-care attitude, and recklessness. TMC realised that it would be tough to sideline and sidestep the investment banker-turned-politician.

But what next now? The Opposition uniting for her makes it tough for the Trinamool Congress to deny Moitra a ticket for the 2024 polls. The challenge is no longer a win for the firebrand leader but the margin will be the vindication.

In all likelihood, the entire TMC machinery will ensure that she wins by a huge margin. The party has already made huge plans in her district to do ‘dharnas’ in her support.

But beyond this is the fact that Moitra has played the woman card. Right from walking out of the ethics committee on the grounds that it was like ‘Draupadi ka cheerharan’ to a lonely woman’s fight against the men who ganged up against her in Lok Sabha.

Cut to the battle for Bengal. The TMC released animation films, painting Banerjee as a lonely woman left to the wolves in a jungle but taking them on as a tigress. Moitra has invoked Maa Kaali, quoted Kazi Nazrul Islam and dared the BJP to a fight.

Moitra likes to make style statements. Her fashion sense is not just about style but also a political point that she wants to make. Like when she first deposed before the ethics committee, she deliberately carried her Tumi and LV bags with the big sunglasses intact — much like the day she was expelled.

Moitra has made it clear that she does not want to look at her opponents through tinted glasses. Her vision is clear and she is all set to take them on.