‘I ignore traitors’: Mamata Banerjee slams rebels as key aide quits amid TMC meltdown

The embattled Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and former West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Saturday called party rebels “traitors”, asserting that she will continue to lead the TMC and that she prefers party workers over such leaders.

“I don’t care. I ignore them all who are gone. To me workers are important than leaders. They are traitors. I ask such traitors if you have guts, go join the BJP. Do you think I am dead? TMC workers are dead? Those who left had a lot of baggage and properties to save. We have TMC family to save,” said Mamata, 71, in an address via Facebook Live.

Mamata’s hard-hitting remarks came hours after her close aide and former minister, Chandrima Bhattacharya, resigned from all TMC posts, barely a month after she was appointed the Bengal unit chief after the party’s split in the wake of its debacle in the recent Assembly elections.

In her resignation letter addressed to Mamata, Bhattacharya stated, “I hereby tender my resignation from the post of state president of All India Trinamool Congress, which had been conferred on me in the meeting at Kalighat on 03.06.2026. I also hereby resign from all other posts which I hold at present. Please note that I withdraw myself as the authorised signatory of All India Trinamool Congress and all other related organisations in respect of the accounts maintained in various banks. I also withdraw myself from being your authorised person before the Election Commission of India.”

Soon after her resignation, Bhattacharya went to the state Assembly premises where she joined a meeting with TMC rebels including Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Ritabrata Banerjee, Firhad Hakim and Sandipan Saha, in what signalled her possible switch to their camp.

According to party sources, Bhattacharya was at Trinamool Bhawan, the party’s headquarters in Kolkata, on Friday evening, and left minutes after rebel MLAs barged in to take possession of the office. They changed the locks at the office and hung a banner there declaring Arup Roy as TMC chairman instead of Mamata. Sources said Mamata was upset with Bhattacharya over her “lack of resistance”.

On Thursday, the Ritabrata faction met the Election Commission (EC) in Delhi to stake claim over the party, calling themselves the “real Trinamool”.

Hitting back at the TMC rebels, Mamata said: “They are trying to get the party symbol. They will never get it. Remember, you contested polls on a symbol which was signed by me. You contested on behalf of a party founded by me. Even if EC, which works for BJP, gives them the symbol, we will fight. People are with us.”

Referring to Bhattacharya’s exit, Mamata said, “She told me a few days back she will resign. Before that her son (Sourav Basu, an ex-councillor) joined hands with them (rebel group). I don’t care,” adding “It has just been two months (since the TMC’s poll defeat). So little patience you have. You were MLAs and ministers for 15 years. You are rebels now. Why were you not rebels before the polls?”

Mamata also announced that she will henceforth oversee the Bengal party unit herself. “We will include Kunal Ghosh and Madan Mitra as two state general secretaries. I am the party chairperson, I will also look after the state,” she said.

Regarding the TMC rebels’ bid to “capture” the party headquarters, she said: “We paid the rent for the building, which was Rs 1 lakh per month. Some people are saying they signed on the agreement – but that person was asked by the party to sign it. We have it on rent till October 2027. But they (rebels) came and locked it.”

A defiant Mamata also said that her home at 30 B Harish Chatterjee Street will now be the TMC headquarters.

Attacking the Suvendu Adhikari-led BJP government over what she called “rashtriya santras (state terror)”, Mamata alleged that false cases were being slapped against TMC leaders and workers to arrest them.

“Mahua (Moitra) has been attacked, Abhishek (Banerjee) has been attacked, Kalyan (Banerjee) faced attacks. Our workers were forced to leave their homes,” she said.

Addressing Adhikari, she said: “You are the Chief Minister. But you were with Congress. You were with Trinamool Congress for 10 or 11 years. You were a TMC MLA. You were a minister in charge of irrigation and transport. You were in charge of six districts on behalf of the party. Don’t indulge in committing atrocities on our workers. One day it may return to you. Every action has a reaction. Run the government properly.”

She also called on TMC workers to commemorate the party’s July 21 “Martyrs’ Day” event. “Every year we commemorate July 21. This time police has given prohibitory orders in central Kolkata. Will political parties not carry out their programmes? We have sought permission from police which they are not giving. But we will conduct our programme, even if standing on a rickshaw,” said Mamata. “I will tackle all odds with a smiling face. I know what is struggle and will continue it. I will live long and our struggle will go on.”

Chandrima deals a blow

Once a key face of Mamata’s women brigade in Bengal, Chandrima Bhattacharya, 70, has been her long-time associate who held multiple portfolios in the previous TMC government as a Minister of State (MoS), including the ministries of Finance (independent charge), Health, Family Welfare and Land Reforms. A prominent TMC leader, she also led its women wing.

Bhattacharya’s resignation has deepened the crisis gripping the TMC as it comes at a time when Mamata has been cornered politically by the rebels, with 60 of her 80 MLAs led by Ritabrata staking their faction’s claims over the party’s name, its election symbol and bank accounts.

Of the TMC’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs, 20 have also broken away, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, to merge with a little-known outfit Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI).

Speaking to reporters after her resignation, Bhattacharya said: “When one’s loyalty is questioned, there is no way you can stay. There is no point in staying. There is no question of returning.”

Taking aim at Mamata, Bhattacharya said: “I was told that I allowed them (rebels) to capture the party office. After hearing all that I cannot stay. I consider myself a failure.”

The TMC rebel camp welcomed her decision even though she is currently not an MLA, having lost her Dum Dum Uttar seat in the recent Bengal elections. Sandipan Saha said, “She is welcome. She could not bear the insults and left that place. She is with us and we are the Opposition.”

TMC insiders admit that her exit has come as a major setback for the Mamata faction. “It is a jolt for Mamata and her acceptance as TMC chief. Chandrima was the state party president… The rebel MLAs who have declared their own national working committee with Arup Roy as chairperson are contesting for the party symbol and funds before the EC. They will aim to use Chandrima to their advantage,” said a senior leader in the Mamata camp.