The veteran Trinamool Congress leader — once described by Banerjee herself as the party's "most colourful personality" — remains one of the few prominent former ministers and sitting MLAs who have publicly reaffirmed loyalty to Banerjee and her nephew, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, as the party's internal crisis has deepened over the past several weeks.

The rift traces back to the TMC's defeat to the BJP in West Bengal's May 2026 Assembly elections, which cost Banerjee both the chief ministership and, subsequently, control over large parts of her own party. A rebel faction led by expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, the sitting Leader of the Opposition, has since moved aggressively to establish what it calls the "real" Trinamool Congress — taking physical control of the party's Kolkata headquarters, Trinamool Bhavan, on July 3, a day after meeting Election Commission officials in Delhi to stake claim to the party's name and symbol. The rebel camp claims the backing of at least 58 of the party's 80 MLAs.

Mitra pushed back hard against the takeover from the start, arguing the rebel MLAs had no constitutional authority to restructure the party, since Banerjee remains its chairperson under the TMC's own constitution. His position has held even as the list of defectors has grown to include nearly every senior figure from Banerjee's 2011-2026 cabinet — Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Javed Khan, Jyotipriya Mallick and Arup Roy among them, with former West Bengal TMC president Chandrima Bhattacharya the most recent to cross over, resigning all her party posts on July 5 after Banerjee questioned her loyalty. Two other former ministers, Bratya Basu and Shashi Panja, have stayed publicly silent, neither reaffirming loyalty to Banerjee nor joining the rebels.

Banerjee has responded by consolidating what remains of her camp directly. On July 4, she announced she would personally take over as West Bengal TMC president — a post left vacant after Bhattacharya's exit — and inducted Mitra along with Kunal Ghosh as General Secretaries of the state committee. The rebel faction, for its part, has continued building out a parallel structure, naming former minister Biplab Mitra as its state president, Javed Khan as working president, and expanding to 17 district-level presidents earlier this week, including former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal. Ritabrata has said the faction wants Banerjee to remain associated with the party as a mentor, while separately claiming that MLAs voted to remove her as chairperson altogether — a claim Mitra has rejected as procedurally impossible.

The standoff now sits partly in legal limbo. A petition challenging the Assembly Speaker's recognition of Ritabrata as Leader of the Opposition was denied interim relief, and analysts following the dispute suggest the fight over which faction legally controls the TMC's name, symbol and headquarters will likely need to be settled in court rather than through further organisational announcements from either side.

With July 21 — the date of TMC's traditional Martyrs' Day rally — approaching, both camps are widely expected to use the occasion as their next major show of strength.

In a major jolt to the Trinamool Congress, 58 rebel MLAs have formally split from the party in the West Bengal Assembly, announcing a separate legislative faction on Wednesday. The group elected recently expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as its legislature party leader, escalating the internal crisis that has been brewing for weeks.

The development marks one of the largest recorded splits in the TMC since its formation. The rebel MLAs met Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose and submitted a formal letter of support for the new faction. They have also named Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Siuli Saha as deputy leaders, with Akhruzzaman appointed as chief whip.

Rebels Reject Abhishek's Authority

While the breakaway group has reiterated its recognition of Mamata Banerjee as the party president, it has categorically rejected the leadership of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee and any decisions taken by him regarding the legislative party. Sources familiar with the matter said the rebels were particularly upset over what they claimed was high-handedness in handling Assembly affairs.

The immediate trigger for the rebellion was a letter sent on Abhishek Banerjee’s letterhead to the Speaker, proposing senior TMC leader Shovandev Chattopadhyay’s name as Leader of the Opposition. MLAs Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee alleged that their signatures were forged on the document.

Mamata Banerjee expelled both legislators from the party on Monday following their complaint. The expulsions appear to have backfired, triggering wider discontent within the ranks.

Dissolution of Party Committees

On the same day, Mamata Banerjee dissolved all state-level committees and frontal organisations of the TMC with immediate effect. Party leaders described the move as a step towards complete organisational restructuring. Fresh committees are expected to be announced soon.

Key Developments That Led to the Crisis

The current turmoil comes against the backdrop of several setbacks and internal rumblings in recent weeks.

On May 31, as many as 60 of the 80 TMC MLAs skipped a crucial meeting called by Mamata Banerjee. The meeting had to be postponed. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had then said the absent legislators were busy preparing protests against alleged attacks on Abhishek Banerjee.

The same day, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee claimed he was attacked by BJP supporters outside a police station in Hooghly. He alleged that around 10-15 men in saffron clothes pelted stones and abused him.

A day earlier, on May 30, Abhishek Banerjee himself was allegedly assaulted in South Sonarpur, with eggs and slippers thrown at him. The party claimed there was an attempt on his life and five persons were later arrested.

Earlier, on May 27, TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar resigned from all party posts. Her resignation came after she attended a meeting chaired by BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

On May 20, only 35 MLAs turned up for the party’s first major protest after the Assembly election defeat. The protest was held near the Ambedkar statue in the Assembly complex against post-poll violence and anti-encroachment drives.

Photo from June 1 Shows Early Signs of Rebellion

A photograph from June 1 showed Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha in a meeting with other MLAs, signalling the early stages of the brewing discontent.

What Lies Ahead

The formation of the breakaway faction has raised questions about the future strength of the TMC in the Assembly and the stability of Mamata Banerjee’s hold over the party. Political observers note that while the rebels have stopped short of fully severing ties with Mamata, the open rejection of Abhishek Banerjee’s authority points to deep fissures within the organisation.

The Speaker’s office is yet to take a final call on the recognition of the new faction. The coming days are likely to see further political manoeuvring as both sides attempt to consolidate support.

The split comes at a time when the TMC is still recovering from its Assembly election performance and facing pressure from opposition parties, particularly the BJP.