Mamata Banerjee skips Bhai Phonta at home; her brother attends rival TMC camp’s celebrations

This year, the Bhai Phonta gathering at Mamata Banerjee's Harish Chatterjee Street residence did not take place as it usually does during the festival. The change in government in Bengal led to fewer Trinamool Congress leaders visiting her residence, with only a few, like TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, attending instead of the party chief at Trinamool Bhavan.

Mamata Banerjee herself decided against holding the ceremony, citing that party workers had been attacked and in protest against alleged violence and police harassment of TMC workers since the change in government.

Babun Banerjee, who is Mamata's brother, had previously stated that he wouldn't visit her even if invited for Bhai Phonta. This statement came a day after Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari attended Babun's Kali Puja celebrations. Babun later visited Trinamool Bhavan, where their Bhai Phonta celebrations were held. Senior leader Chandrima Bhattacharya applied the ceremonial tika to various leaders, including Aroop Biswas, Ritabrata Banerjee, Madan Mitra, and Javed Khan.

However, Biswas postponed his own Bhai Phonta programme at an old-age home in south Kolkata as it was not happening this year. When asked about being upset about his celebration not taking place, he replied, "Everything is a matter of time. Everything depends on time." BJP leader Dilip Ghosh criticized TMC leadership, claiming that those who visited Mamata's residence earlier had done so to remain close to power, stating that the situation had changed since their influence had diminished.

Democratic-TMC leader Madan Mitra noted that Mamata Banerjee had never invited him for Bhai Phonta and had never considered him a brother. Biswas, on the other hand, said he hadn't received an invitation from Harish Chatterjee Street and that if he had been invited, he would have thought about it, emphasizing that there is no politics in the relationship between a sister and a brother.