Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee convened an emergency meeting with all party councillors in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on 22 May, after the civic body served notices on 17 properties reportedly owned or co-owned by her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee over the preceding seven days. The development has triggered a sharp internal conflict between the KMC's elected leadership and its administrative apparatus.

What Prompted the Emergency Meeting

A TMC councillor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting's core agenda was to assess an increasingly tense situation within the corporation. The councillor alleged that the KMC bureaucratic setup is functioning independently, acting on instructions from the Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Department while bypassing elected councillors, the mayor, and members-mayor in council (MMIC).

'The Municipal Commissioner, Smita Pandey, has cancelled the municipal session of KMC, which was scheduled today. At the same time, the municipal administration is operating on its own as per the instructions of the state government without any consultation with the mayor and MMICs. In such a situation, our supreme leader has convened a crucial meeting with all the party councillors later in the day to discuss ways to handle the changed situation,' the councillor said.

The Notices and Properties Under Scanner

Earlier in the week, KMC authorities launched a probe into several properties allegedly owned or co-owned by Abhishek Banerjee. The corporation served notices under Section 400(1) of the KMC Act 1980 — a provision that allows owners of allegedly illegal constructions to appear before civic authorities and present their case — to 17 properties within KMC's jurisdiction. Copies of the notices were pasted on the walls of the concerned premises.

Two residences of the Diamond Harbour MP are specifically under the KMC scanner: one at 188A Harish Mukherjee Road and another at 121 Kalighat Road, both in Kolkata. On Thursday, a fresh notice was issued by the KMC's Assessor-Collector (South) office regarding the property at 188A Harish Mukherjee Road.

According to KMC records, the premises were initially purchased in the name of M/s Animesh Tradelink Private Limited, which was later renamed Leaps and Bounds Infra Consultants Private Limited. It has been alleged that although the old structure was demolished and a new building named 'Santiniketan' was constructed on the site, the property continued to be assessed as 'owner-occupied.'

Mayor Hakim's Response

KMC Mayor and four-time TMC legislator Firhad Hakim denied any prior knowledge of the notices, clarifying that the municipal commissioner, by virtue of the designation's statutory authority, is empowered to serve such notices without informing the mayor. The KMC board continues to be run by the Trinamool Congress.

The Broader Political Flashpoint

This comes amid growing tension between the state government's administrative machinery and the TMC's elected municipal wing — an unusual fissure within a party that controls both. Notably, the notices arrive at a politically sensitive moment, with Abhishek Banerjee widely seen as the TMC's second-in-command. The KMC action, driven by the state's own departmental bureaucracy, raises questions about the internal power dynamics within West Bengal's ruling establishment. How the party navigates the standoff between its administrative and elected arms will be closely watched in the days ahead.