TMC Rebels Declare New Leadership, Directly Challenging Mamata's 28-Year Hold

A rebel faction within the All India Trinamool Congress has mounted its most significant challenge yet to the leadership of Mamata Banerjee, announcing a new party chairperson and unveiling a parallel leadership structure during a special session held in Kolkata. The move marks the first direct attempt to replace the party's existing leadership since the Trinamool Congress was founded in 1998 and comes amid growing internal unrest following the party’s recent electoral setbacks.

The session was led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, who argued that the party was facing a constitutional crisis. According to him, the Trinamool Congress constitution requires the formation of a new national working committee every three years, a process he claimed was not completed after the previous committee’s term expired earlier this year. The gathering subsequently approved a new leadership structure and constituted a fresh national working committee.

Veteran MLA Arup Roy was elected chairperson of the newly formed committee through a voice vote. Senior leaders Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin were appointed vice-chairpersons, while Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were named general secretaries. Akhruzzaman Ansari was selected as treasurer. Notably, the event reportedly featured portraits of national icons including Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam and B.R. Ambedkar, but no images of Mamata Banerjee.

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The rebel camp maintained that its actions were in line with the party’s constitution and stated that details of the newly constituted committee would be communicated to the Election Commission of India. Despite the challenge to the current leadership, Ritabrata Banerjee extended an olive branch to Mamata Banerjee, saying she would be welcome to serve as the party’s chief advisor. He also claimed that around 60 of the party’s 80 MLAs and nearly 70 former Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors had either attended or supported the session.

The Mamata Banerjee camp, however, rejected the development outright and questioned the legitimacy of the meeting. Senior Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh said the rebels lacked constitutional authority to convene such a session and insisted that the party and Mamata Banerjee were inseparable. Party loyalists indicated that legal action could be pursued against the dissident leaders, several of whom have reportedly received disciplinary notices from the organisation.

The latest turmoil comes after a series of defections and internal disputes that have weakened the Trinamool Congress since its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The rebellion follows earlier political setbacks, including support for the opposition by a group of MLAs and the departure of several Members of Parliament. With rival camps now openly contesting the party’s leadership, the developments could have major implications for the future direction of the Trinamool Congress and the political landscape of West Bengal.

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