Amid TMC rebel crisis, Mamata Banerjee pins hopes on INDIA help for firefighting

Amid the raging discontent within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party supremo and ex-West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, has been struggling to firm up a roadmap in a bid to bounce back as an Opposition leader in the state and at the national level.

As part of her efforts, Mamata is set to attend the Opposition INDIA bloc’s meeting scheduled for Monday in Delhi.

While TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee reached Delhi Saturday, Mamata is scheduled to arrive in the national capital on Sunday. She will remain in Delhi till Tuesday.

According to TMC insiders, Mamata and Abhishek would attend the INDIA alliance meeting along with a few senior party MPs.

On Friday, Mamata effected a major organisational reshuffle in her party, packing it with her loyalists and party old-timers. While retaining her nephew Abhishek as the national general secretary despite widespread criticism of his role in the TMC’s debacle in the recent Bengal Assembly polls, she has appointed two joint national secretaries – Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen – to assist him, signalling to the party rebels that decisions will be henceforth taken jointly and not unilaterally by Abhishek.

A senior TMC MP said, “Mamata Banerjee already understood that the main discontent in the party’s rank and file is against Abhishek Banerjee. Already, during her organisation reshuffle, Mamata gave space to other senior MPs like Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen to assist Abhishek. She is desperate now to regain her footing in the party as well as credibility on the national stage.”

Ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting, the Congress, too, is keeping a close eye on the TMC crisis. TMC sources said Mamata was trying to meet Sonia Gandhi during her Delhi visit, but the Gandhi family has yet to confirm a meeting.

A senior Bengal Congress leader said, “When Mamata Banerjee was in the winning phase, she said whatever she wanted about the Congress. She also tried to snatch the leadership of the INDIA bloc from the Congress and criticised Rahul Gandhi. Now, she should not think that during her bad time, the Congress will go away. But we will not stand like a close friend either.”

TMC leaders maintained that divisions have surfaced among the rebel MLAs over the future role of the party chairperson. While the leader of the rebel party legislators, Ritabrata Banerjee, who was chosen as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly by about 60 TMC MLAs in defiance of the official party line, suggested that Mamata could remain as the “prodhan poramorshodata (chief adviser)” in the party, some MLAs of his group have objected to this proposal.

“A leader is a completely different thing, the supreme – what everyone calls a guardian. ‘Prodhan poramorshodata’ means someone who assists from the outside, superficially. If Mamata Banerjee is not kept as the supreme party leader, we will have to rethink this whole thing,” said rebel MLA Gulshan Mullick.

Sangeeta Roy Basunia, another rebel MLA, said, “Mamata Banerjee is our supreme leader and will remain so. She cannot be an adviser. She is our leader.”

At the same time, Mamata has doubled down on her attempts to regain support from the rebel TMC leaders. Sources said she is also trying to reach out to the party’s Muslim MLAs, some of whom are reportedly uneasy about Ritabrata’s perceived closeness to the BJP.

Among a total of 80 TMC MLAs elected in the 2026 Assembly polls, 31 are Muslims, and the Ritabrata-led revolt seems to have split this bloc as well.

Several prominent Muslim MLAs – including Sabina Yeasmin, Javed Khan and Akhruzzaman – joined the rebel camp and assumed key positions in its legislative faction. However, old-guard leader Firhad Hakim and some newer faces like Babar Ali declined to join the rebel camp. Mamata is trying to use these leaders to pacify the rebels.

But Mamata may face another revolt in her parliamentary party, with some party leaders expecting a similar rebellion among Lok Sabha MPs in the coming days. This has prompted speculation in political circles that while Mamata remains in Delhi for the INDIA bloc meeting, some TMC MPs may then approach the Lok Sabha Speaker to seek Abhishek’s removal as their parliamentary party leader.

A senior TMC MP claimed: “When news spread that the TMC legislative party may split, many leaders questioned how the rebel group organised the support of more than 52 MLAs. Ultimately, it went up to 60. Similarly, in the Lok Sabha, the TMC has 28 MPs. We need the support of 19 MPs to oust Abhishek Banerjee. You may see that support may cross 20 also. Many senior as well as first-time MPs and film personalities, close to Abhishek Banerjee, all are rebels now.”