A severe political crisis has gripped the Trinamool Congress (TMC), with a growing faction of rebel MPs openly defying party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Twenty members of Parliament have now signed a letter of dissent, with the rebel group preparing to submit a petition to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday, June 15, seeking recognition as the legitimate TMC faction in the House. The rebels met in New Delhi on Sunday to deliberate on their next course of action.
The crisis deepened significantly on Saturday when senior TMC MP and long-serving Parliamentary Party stalwart Sudeep Bandyopadhyay joined the rebel camp, taking the number of signatories from 19 to 20. He subsequently met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at his residence in Delhi, accompanied by fellow dissident MP Shatabdi Roy. Responding swiftly, Mamata Banerjee removed Bandyopadhyay, Sayani Ghosh, and other rebel MPs from their party positions with immediate effect.
The revolt, according to rebel MP Chandra Barma Basunia, was not spontaneous. Signature collection among dissident MPs began as early as June 8, indicating that the rebellion had been in the making for several days. The group had already met the Speaker once and plans a formal follow-up meeting on June 15 to press their demand for official recognition as the real TMC. However, legal experts have warned that the rebels could face disqualification under the Anti-Defection Law, and the group is said to be in extensive consultations with a legal team to explore protective measures.
Adding further complexity to the political landscape, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari is also attending the Delhi meeting of the dissident MPs — a development being closely watched by political observers. Meanwhile, speculation circulated widely on social media and in political circles that the TMC was on the verge of merging with the Congress. These reports were swiftly and firmly denied by TMC National Joint General Secretary Derek O’Brien and party MP Kirti Azad, who dismissed the claims as entirely false and baseless.
On a separate but related front, pressure is also mounting on Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and TMC heavyweight Abhishek Banerjee. Police conducted a surprise raid at his residence at 2:00 AM on Saturday in connection with a case involving alleged financial irregularities, searching for his personal assistant Sumit Roy. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself rushed to Abhishek’s home upon learning of the raid and remained there until it concluded. The CID has also issued fresh summons to Abhishek Banerjee, directing him to appear for questioning on June 16 in connection with the same case.
The TMC hit back hard at the rebels. Firebrand MP Mahua Moitra asserted that the dissidents have no legal standing whatsoever, pointing out that the 91st Constitutional Amendment had completely abolished the provision for a party split. She issued a sharp challenge on social media platform X, daring the “19 traitors” to immediately resign their seats and contest on BJP tickets if they had the conviction to do so. MP Kirti Azad also expressed confidence that the BJP’s alleged Operation Lotus — aimed at engineering defections — would not succeed in splitting the party.