• Source:JND

TMC Crisis: Mamata Banerjee, former West Bengal chief minister and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, faced the biggest revolt in her party, which led to a split in the TMC into two camps. The revolt set the stage for a battle for Mamata, this time against her own party leaders. Expelled TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee did exactly what Eknath Shinde did to Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray and Ajit Pawar to NCP's Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra. He rebelled against his party chief and claimed that his faction is the original TMC, a stark reminder of Maharashtra politics, highlighting the growing revolt culture in Indian politics.

TMC Split Into Two

In just one month after the election debacle in which the TMC was defeated to the Bharatiya Janata Party after being in power for 15 years, Mamata lost the trust of her around 60 MLAs out of 80. Ritabrata, with the support of 58 MLAs, was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Wednesday, against Mamata's pick - Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay - for the post, officially confirming split in the party for the first time in 28 years of its history.

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Mamata's Fight Is Difficult As Her Battle Is Not Against Political Opponents

The TMC's journey in the Bengal Assembly has mirrored its meteoric rise until its recent decline. Riding a historic anti-Left wave, the party secured 184 seats in 2011 and, along with allies, ended the Left Front's 34-year rule. It consolidated its dominance with 211 seats in 2016 before reaching its zenith in 2021, winning 215 of the Assembly's 294 seats under Banerjee's leadership. Political observers note that Mamamata now confronts a challenge unlike any she has faced in nearly three decades of public life. She has survived electoral setbacks, central investigations, organisational revolts and ideological battles. But this crisis strikes at the very heart of her authority, that too by her own party leaders.

ALSO READ: TMC Rift: Why Did Ritabrata Banerjee Rebel Against Mamata-Led Bloc? Inside Story

In an apparent attempt to regain control, the TMC dissolved several key organisational committees and frontal wings, a move widely interpreted as a last-ditch effort to prevent a formal split.

2020 Suvendu Saga

Six years ago, Mamata overcame a revolt led by Suvendu Adhikari, now a BJP leader and the chief minister of the state. After being felt sidelined within the TMC, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, which made massive inroads in Bengal, winning 18 out of 42 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. That was a big blow, as Suvendu was Mamata's troubleshooter and de facto number 2 leader in the party.

Abhishek Bannerjee Factor Hurt TMC

One thing has been common in both revolts in 2020 and 2026. It is Abhishek Bannerjee, the nephew of Mamata and the national general secretary of party. Suvendu found himself increasingly sidelined within TMC as the party elevated Abhishek and other key leaders started posing Mamata's nephew as her successor, which prompted Suvendu to switch to the BJP.

Similarly, Ritabrata publicly targeted Abhishek and his working style, moments after the fake signature row, which turned out to be the tipping point of the revolt, which divided the party into two parts. It was reported that Abhishek's office used the fake signature of a few MLAs to appoint the LoP in the assembly, after which Ritabrata launched a scathing attack on Abhishek, accusing him of turning the party into a "corporate agency".

"Abhishek Banerjee will have absolutely no role in it. Neither our legislative party nor the party organisation has any connection whatsoever with him. Nor does the public have any connection with him. The people of Bengal have absolutely no connection with him. He was beaten just as thieves are beaten. After getting beaten, he made a statement claiming that since the public was on his side, the public itself would arrange for his security. On that day, after being beaten like a thief, Abhishek Banerjee had declared that the public would protect him," the expelled TMC leader said in a press conference.

In both cases, Abhishek emerged as a bone of contention in TMC, and Mamata will have to take a call on the future of the party as her age has already passed 70. Now, it's time for her to push the next-gen TMC leaders to ensure the future of her party.

(With Agencies Inputs)


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