After poll defeat, violence: Can Mamata hold Trinamool together?

Key points

• The Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) efforts to regroup after the West Bengal assembly election defeat suffered a setback after a crucial party meeting of newly elected MLAs on May 31 had to be called off due to poor attendance.
• The meeting, convened by TMC legislative party leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay at former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, was intended to strengthen coordination among the 80 legislators and discuss strategy as the Opposition.
• Mamata was expected to address the legislators.
• However, only 20 MLAs turned up, forcing the leadership to defer the meeting.
• The development comes at a particularly difficult time for the TMC when its legislative assembly strength is down to the lowest since 2011 and the BJP has assumed power with a massive mandate of 208 seats.