Trinamool Faces Growing Internal Revolt After Crushing Election Defeat In Bengal

The Trinamool Congress is facing growing internal unrest following its defeat to the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election, with several party leaders openly questioning the organisation’s direction, leadership style and electoral strategy. The setback has exposed deep divisions within the party that had remained largely hidden during its 15-year dominance in the state’s political landscape.

Much of the discontent surfaced after senior party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar submitted her resignation letter to Trinamool Working President Subrata Bakshi. In her letter, Dastidar reportedly urged Mamata Banerjee to return to the party’s earlier organisational style and raised concerns over the increasing influence of political consultancy firm I-PAC in the party’s functioning. I-PAC, founded by political strategist Prashant Kishore, had played a major role in the Trinamool’s sweeping victory in the 2021 Assembly election.

The rebellion within the party has since widened, with several leaders privately expressing concerns about organisational decay, factionalism and the erosion of the party’s original “maa, maati, manush” ideology. Internal tensions have also become increasingly visible in public, with senior MP Kalyan Banerjee criticising Dastidar amid the growing turmoil. In response, the Trinamool Congress has formed a five-member disciplinary committee to act against leaders publicly criticising the party, suspending spokesperson Riju Dutta for six years in its first major action.

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Speculation over possible defections has further intensified after three Trinamool councillors — Anisur Rehman, Bina Mondal and Mohamed Abdul Matin — attended an administrative meeting led by new Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Separately, Trinamool MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha also met Adhikari at Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose’s chamber, though both legislators later described the interaction as a courtesy meeting. Ritabrata Banerjee was also recently photographed with Adhikari at a state guest house in Delhi, fuelling further political speculation.

The party’s troubles have also been compounded by corruption allegations and the arrest of former minister Sujit Bose by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged recruitment scam earlier this month. Several senior leaders who were once among Mamata Banerjee’s closest associates — including Indranil Sen, Shashi Panja, Bratya Basu, Maloy Ghatak and Aroop Biswas — have remained largely absent from public political activity since the election defeat.

Nearly three weeks after the election results, Mamata Banerjee continues to maintain that the Trinamool was unfairly deprived of victory, claiming during a recent Facebook Live session that the party had been “robbed” of around 150 seats. Party insiders, however, have reportedly complained about the leadership becoming increasingly inaccessible and disconnected from grassroots workers. Some leaders have also alleged widespread corruption within the organisation, including claims that party positions and election tickets were informally linked to monetary contributions during the election campaign.

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