Rebellion, Exits And Mutiny: How Mamata Banerjee's 15-Year Bengal Dominance Collapsed In 35 Days
Rebellion, Exits And Mutiny: How Mamata Banerjee's 15-Year Bengal Dominance Collapsed In 35 Days Written By, Last Updated: June 08, 2026, 16:59 IST The TMC
Rebellion, Exits And Mutiny: How Mamata Banerjee's 15-Year Bengal Dominance Collapsed In 35 Days Written By, Last Updated: June 08, 2026, 16:59 IST The TMC faced its biggest political setback after 20 dissident party MPs submitted a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking to join the NDA. Rapid Read Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) is facing an existential crisis in both Bengal and Delhi. (PTI) The outcome of the West Bengal Assembly elections was not the only upset for Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC). In the months that followed the TMC’s stunning defeat in Bengal, the party has faced one setback after another that has put a big question mark on its political future. The TMC faced its biggest political setback on Monday after at least 20 dissident party MPs submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking to join the Democratic Alliance (NDA). The move came hours after Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Shekhar Ray submitted his resignation from the TMC. This is not just a setback. This is a blow of seismic proportions to Mamata Banerjee’s carefully crafted legacy that had dominated West Bengal’s politics for the last 15 years. With over two-thirds of TMC MLAs already in open revolt, the emerging rebellion among MPs has further eroded Mamata Banerjee’s image as the party’s unquestioned leader, raising fresh doubts about her political future. When It All Began The collapse of Mamata Banerjee’s authority within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been one of the most dramatic political developments in West Bengal since the BJP’s landslide victory in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Mamata Banerjee herself lost her Bhabanipur seat to Suvendu Adhikari, her one-time lieutenant, who later became the CM. On May 4, after the BJP stormed to power in Bengal with 207 seats out of the state’s 294, internal cracks within the TMC began to appear when several leaders, including Manoj Tiwary, Arunava Sen, Papiya Ghosh, and Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, openly expressed displeasure against the party leadership and the high-handedness of TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. These leaders cited deep-rooted corruption within the party and accused its top leadership of being increasingly inaccessible and ignorant of public anger and misgovernance, marking the gravest challenge for the party that was yet to come. Resignations, Skipped Meetings, & Expulsions The dissent that had gripped TMC slowly began to turn into a broader revolt against the party’s top brass. TMC MP Santanu Sen resigned as the party’s spokesperson, while Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar resigned from all party posts. More than 100 TMC municipal councillors also stepped down, signalling a brewing discontent within the party. One of the clearest signs of Mamata Banerjee’s weakening control over the TMC took place on May 30 when 60 out of its 80 MLAs refused to show up at a meeting chaired at her Kalighat residence. While the TMC attributed this to recent attacks on leaders, there were visible signs of internet mistrust. Another crisis engulfed the TMC when MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha were expelled from the party on June 2 over alleged anti-party activities. The two MLAs had formally complained to the Assembly Speaker, alleging that signatures of several MLAs had been used without their consent on a letter naming the party’s preferred Leader of the Opposition, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, leading to a police inquiry.
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