The Kolkata Municipal Corporation sent 17 demolition notices to properties tied to Abhishek Banerjee. One read: “Remove unauthorized construction within seven days.”
These include the homes of both parents, the office of his company Leaps and Bounds, and the official residence “Shantiniketan” on Harish Mukherjee Road. Each notice carries the same stern deadline; none offers a compromise.
But KMC is not an independent body. It sits under the mayor, Firhad Hakim, a staunch ally of Mamata Banerjee. The council’s ownership lies squarely in Trinamool hands, making the move oddly child‑ish.
So why would the party’s own flag‑bearer be targeted? Questions have already begun swirling. Some speculate that a fierce rival within the party may be knocking on doors, while others see it as a signal to the central BJP. After all, the party’s opposition has leaked a list of 43 properties they claim belong to Banerjee. The timing feels more than coincidence.
Legal battles are likely to erupt. The notices will be challenged in court, and the mayor’s office may face pressure from Mamata’s camp to pull back. If the city council backs down, will the ban on unauthorized extensions stick? The public already sees a familiar line of escalating conflict.
Someone will write up these developments as a cautionary tale for politicians who can’t control what turns on their own rule. Will the fallout dissolve the city’s political unity, or will it tighten the party’s grip on power?
