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If a judge can cross from the Bench to the political battlefield, Didi appears to be signalling, so can a police chief from the force.
Not even months after retiring as Bengal’s DGP, Rajeev Kumar is headed to Parliament (Image: PTI File)
The clearest signal in All India Trinamool Congress’s latest Rajya Sabha nominations is here – loyalty matters and timing matters more.
Not even months after retiring as Bengal’s DGP, Rajeev Kumar is headed to Parliament. For over a decade, he has been one of the most controversial police officers in the state, particularly since the Saradha chit fund scam investigation and the dramatic CBI standoff that prompted Mamata Banerjee to sit on dharna in his defence. His elevation is not subtle; it is a statement.
Many in Bengal’s political circles see this as Mamata Banerjee’s calibrated response to the BJP nominating former MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay to Parliament. If a judge can cross from the Bench to the political battlefield, Didi appears to be signalling, so can a police chief from the force. Institutional neutrality is now openly convertible political capital. But Kumar is only one part of the design.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, known for her forceful arguments in the Supreme Court, brings legal firepower at a time when Centre–state tensions frequently spill into courtrooms. Moreover, by elevating a publicly out LGBTQ+ constitutional lawyer to the Rajya Sabha, Banerjee signalled both advocacy and acumen while championing representation while executing a calibrated political move.
Actor Koel Mallick carries Tollywood recall, a formula Mamata has long relied on. From Dev to Mimi Chakraborty, Shatabdi Roy, Tapas Paul and Nusrat Jahan, celebrity remains electoral shorthand.
Then there is Babul Supriyo, once PM Modi’s favourite and a union minister, later a Trinamool entrant, state cabinet member, and now returning to Parliament via the Upper House. Reinvention of political narrative is rewarded.
Significantly, two of the four nominees are non-Bengalis — a reminder that Trinamool’s national ambitions are no longer rhetorical. The party is crafting a Delhi-facing profile even as it consolidates Bengal’s core.
Star power, legal firepower, administrative loyalty, and cross-party converts – these nominations are not routine parliamentary placements. They are political messaging from Didi, and it includes sharp, deliberate, and unmistakably Mamata elements.
February 28, 2026, 09:39 IST
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