Tmc

Rebel TMC faction ousts Mamata, elects MLA Arup Roy as chairperson

For the first time since the TMC was founded by Mamata Banerjee in 1998, a rebel faction on Monday replaced her as the party chairperson and elected senior MLA Arup Roy to the post, while unveiling a parallel leadership structure. At a special session here, the faction led by Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee constituted a new national leadership hierarchy, directly challenging the authority of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general secretary. The rebellion within the TMC crossed a political Rubicon as dissident leaders moved beyond challenging the leadership and sought to remake the organisation itself, projecting their camp as the legitimate continuation of the party. Held at a hotel here, the 31-minute special session brought together rebel MLAs, former councillors and party functionaries from across the state. The political messaging was unmistakable. While the TMC's twin-flower symbol remained prominently displayed, portraits

TMC's treasurer seeks freeze on party bank accounts amid leadership battle

The internecine war within the TMC took a new turn on Thursday with "party treasurer" Aroop Biswas writing to a bank seeking restrictions on the operation of the party's accounts, citing uncertainty over its legitimate leadership amid rebellions and splits by MLAs and MPs. The move is being seen as a fresh setback for the camp led by former chief minister Mamata Banerjee, coming days after dissident MLAs and MPs challenged the authority of the Trinamool Congress's central leadership following the party's defeat in the assembly polls, and staked claim to being the "real" TMC. A two-page letter, addressed to the manager of a private bank's Central Plaza branch in Kolkata, made rounds on social media, though PTI could not independently verify its authenticity. The bank did not respond to queries, while calls and text messages to Biswas, a former minister and once considered a loyalist of Banerjee, remained unanswered. According to the letter dated June 12, Biswas sought maintenance of

MP HC lifts stay on arrest warrant against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has lifted the interim stay on an arrest warrant issued against Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a defamation case. The decision is likely to increase legal troubles for the TMC general secretary, who is already facing an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges. A single bench of Justice Pramod Kumar Agarwal on Wednesday dismissed Abhishek Banerjee's petition and lifted the stay, granted in November 2025, on the execution of the arrest warrant issued by a special Bhopal court. Former Indore MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, son of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, filed the defamation case against Abhishek Banerjee in the MP-MLA court in Bhopal in 2021. The defamation suit alleged that Abhishek Banerjee called Akash Vijayvargiya a "goon" while addressing a rally in Kolkata in November 2020. The MP-MLA court had issued th

Rebel TMC MPs announce merger with regional party NCPI, to back NDA

The crisis in the Trinamool Congress deepened on Sunday as dissident MPs announced their merger with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India and met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking a separate seating arrangement in the House, even as TMC parliamentary party leader Abhishek Banerjee urged Birla not to accord any recognition to the breakaway faction. Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the rebel faction would also fight in court to be recognised as the real TMC and will stake claim to its poll symbol. Speaking to reporters after their meeting with Birla, rebel MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said 20 TMC MPs had signed a representation submitted to the Speaker. "Two-thirds of TMC MPs have given a letter to the Speaker for a separate seating arrangement. We will merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party and support the NDA," she said. The Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) is a Tripura-based registered unrecognised party that does not enjoy any significant political

Former West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia quits TMC amid party rift

Speaking to the media, he confirmed that he had submitted his resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee, requesting her to accept his resignation from the primary membership of the party

ED raids TMC leader Madan Mitra's properties in alleged municipal jobs scam

The Enforcement Directorate has been carrying out raids since early Saturday at multiple properties, allegedly linked to TMC MLA Madan Mitra, in West Bengal as part of its money laundering investigation into municipality recruitment "irregularities", officials said. A total of seven premises allegedly linked to Mitra, a former minister in the previous TMC regime, are being searched, they said. Search operations were launched at Mitra's Bhabanipur residence in south Kolkata, alongside a five-floor apartment in Dakshineswar on the northern fringes of the city and a flat in Joka on Kolkata's southern outskirts, they said. Raids are also taking place at a property in Beleghata in north Kolkata and the premises of two local clubs in Bhabanipur and Santoshpur, the officials added. The leader was also being questioned by the investigators at his Dhirendranath Gupta Road residence in Bhabanipur, where he was reportedly staying with his family. Mitra represents the Kamarhati assembly seat

Messi event chaos case: WB police issues fresh notice to ex-sports minister

Police issued a fresh notice to former West Bengal sports minister Aroop Biswas on Saturday, asking him to appear before investigators within 48 hours for questioning in a case related to the chaos at the Lionel Messi event at Salt Lake Stadium in December. Biswas had not complied with two notices sent by the Bidhannagar police earlier to appear before it for questioning in the case. He had sought time for appearance, citing personal reasons, sources said. They said that officers served the third notice at the registered address of the former minister. This came after the Calcutta High Court granted protection to Biswas from coercive action till August 17 and directed him to appear before the probe agency on a notice by it, which is to be served at least 48 hours prior. The case stems from an FIR lodged against him by the event organiser Shatadru Dutta, accusing the former minister of black-marketing tickets, extortion, criminal intimidation and cheating in connection with the ...

Bengal police raid Abhishek Banerjee's Kolkata residence for over 4 hours

In a dramatic pre-dawn operation that triggered a political storm in West Bengal, a large contingent of police, accompanied by central forces, raided the Kalighat residence of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday in connection with a case filed in a police station in Paschim Medinipur district, a senior officer said. The development came barely two days after the West Bengal CID questioned Banerjee in connection with the alleged forged-signature case linked to the state assembly and amid a series of fresh summons issued to him by multiple investigating agencies. According to local sources, police teams, including officers from Paschim Medinipur's Salboni Police Station and Kolkata Police, arrived outside Banerjee's Patuapara residence shortly after 3 am. Central force personnel took positions outside the premises while police officers attempted to enter the house. The TMC alleged that the police teams broke open the lock and entered Banerjee's premises. The

Fresh setback for TMC as MP Prakash Baraik resigns from party, Rajya Sabha

Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Prakash Chik Baraik resigned from the Upper House on Thursday, the third party MP to quit this week. Baraik met Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation, sources said. In his resignation letter, the West Bengal MP wrote, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect." He also thanked the chairman, deputy chairman and officials of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat for their cooperation during his tenure. A tribal leader from West Bengal, Baraik was serving as a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Consultative Committee on Tribal Affairs. His resignation comes amid a series of exits from the Trinamool Congress. On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray resigned from the Upper House and subsequently announced his decision to quit the Trinamool Congress, citing differences with the party ...

Another jolt to TMC as party MP Sushmita Dev resigns from Rajya Sabha

Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev on Wednesday resigned as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the second TMC MP to resign this week. Dev, a former Congress leader who had joined the TMC a few years ago, met Rajya Sabha chairman C P Radhakrishnan and resigned from the membership of the House. She is the second MP of the TMC to resign this week. Earlier, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray had tendered his resignation from the party as well as the Rajya Sabha. Sources said Dev is likely to quit the TMC and join the BJP. She has also met Assam chief minister Humanta Biswa Sarma. In her resignation letter, she said, "I do hereby resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha, which may please be accepted with immediate effect." "I convey my sincere gratitude to your excellency, hon'ble deputy chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a member of the Rajya Sabha," Dev said in the letter to the Chairman. The Trinamool Congress is facing

Two factions, two directions: TMC split exposes ideological divide

The unfolding crisis within the TMC presents one of the most unusual paradoxes in recent West Bengal history: a simultaneous fragmentation of the party's legislative and parliamentary wings each charting sharply divergent ideological directions, yet both claiming to represent the "real" political essence of the organisation. The majority of MLAs, who formed the breakaway faction of the TMC's legislative party and secured legitimacy in the state assembly, vowed "constructive opposition" and simultaneously positioned themselves against the BJP's politics in Bengal, while the rebel Lok Sabha parliamentarians of the party followed suit five days later, only to pledge their allegiance to the BJP-led NDA. Both factions sought to legitimise their actions by invoking the cause of broader "development of Bengal", contending that the state's progress had been "impeded" during the Mamata Banerjee regime. On June 3, expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, backed by a bloc of 58 of 80 TMC legislators

CID searches Mamata's Kalighat home-office in 'forged signature' probe

A CID team on Tuesday entered Trinamool Congress's central party office-cum-residence of party supremo Mamata Banerjee in Kalighat area here, after a brief standoff with security personnel and a party leader, as a part of its probe into the controversy surrounding alleged forged signatures of TMC MLAs, which has triggered a split in the party. Officials of the state investigating agency, accompanied by personnel from the Kalighat police station and a large contingent of women police personnel, arrived at the party's central office at 30B Harish Chatterjee Street around late afternoon, sources said. The CID's move comes days after the agency served notices seeking information related to the alleged forging of signatures of TMC legislators on a proposal submitted to the Assembly Speaker for recognition of the Leader of Opposition. According to CID officials present at the spot, the search was sought on the basis of a reply submitted by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee

20 TMC Lok Sabha MPs back NDA; INDIA bloc to write to CJI over SIR

The crisis engulfing the TMC deepened on Monday as 20 Lok Sabha MPs, led by Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, wrote to Speaker Om Birla declaring support for the BJP-led NDA, triggering a split in the party's parliamentary unit and dealing a severe blow to Mamata Banerjee's authority after the party's Assembly poll debacle. The development comes barely days after the TMC leadership suffered a setback in the West Bengal Assembly, where 58 of its 80 MLAs defied the party high command's decision to appoint veteran leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition, and elected expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee to that post. The political turbulence that has gripped the TMC since its Assembly election debacle appeared to spill over to its parliamentary ranks on Monday, with a group of dissident MPs extending support to the NDA even as party supremo Mamata Banerjee was in Delhi attending an INDIA bloc conclave to chart a pan-India strategy against the BJP. Speaking to PTI over .

TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray quits party, steps down as Rajya Sabha member

In a major blow to the TMC amid the political turmoil rocking the organisation, Rajya Sabha MP Sukhen Shekhar Ray on Monday resigned from the party and also stepped down as a member of the Upper House of Parliament. Ray, a veteran leader and one of the most articulate voices of the TMC in Parliament, submitted his resignation to the Rajya Sabha chairman and simultaneously announced his decision to quit the Mamata Banerjee-led party. The development comes at a time when the TMC is grappling with an unprecedented internal crisis, following a rebellion in its legislative wing and growing tensions among different factions within the organisation. In his resignation letter, Ray said he was relinquishing his parliamentary membership and severing association with the TMC.

Out of power, in existential crisis? TMC struggles to contain a split

TMC's split after its poll defeat has weakened Bengal's Opposition, potentially giving the BJP greater political space and a freer hand to push its agenda

After mayor's exit, Bengal govt asks why KMC board should not be dissolved

The West Bengal government has asked the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to explain why its board should not be dissolved, issuing a show-cause notice after senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim resigned as mayor and plunging the city's civic administration into fresh uncertainty. The Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Department served a show-cause notice on the KMC under provisions of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980, directing it to explain within three days why action should not be initiated against the civic body. The move came less than 24 hours after Hakim quit as mayor on Friday, saying he was no longer in a position to function effectively and did not wish to continue merely occupying the chair without authority. In the notice, the BJP government contended that the civic body was failing to discharge its obligations towards Kolkata's residents and that the resignation of the mayor could adversely affect the normal functioning of the corporation and delivery of

Bengal rail projects stalled by TMC will now accelerate: Vaishnaw

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday alleged that several railway and metro projects in West Bengal were stalled for years due to a "lack of cooperation" from the previous TMC government, and asserted that work would now be expedited following what he described as a change in the state's approach. During a meeting with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at the state secretariat Nabanna, Vaishnaw claimed the railway projects in Bengal had faced repeated hurdles over permissions, land issues and legal challenges under the TMC regime, which he dubbed 'vikas virodhi' (anti-development). He also said sixty next-generation trains would be introduced for the Kolkata Metro in the next five years. "The previous government had blocked all forms of development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has plans for Bengal, and that is evident from the Rs 14,205 crore allotted for railway projects in the state. Under the UPA government, Bengal got Rs 4,000 crore," Vaishnaw claimed. Highlighting the pa

Mamata's post-poll crisis: Can she contain the rebellion within TMC?

For a politician who built her career on defiance, resilience and an instinctive understanding of Bengal's political pulse, the past month -- the one that marks the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly election results -- has been nothing short of a political earthquake for Mamata Banerjee. Exactly a month ago, Banerjee remained the undisputed face of the Trinamool Congress, commanding a formidable legislative force. But the party's crushing electoral defeat at the hands of the BJP dramatically altered the political landscape. The setback was made more personal by her own loss from Bhabanipur to her archrival and, as most would like to qualify, her nemesis -- Suvendu Adhikari -- from a constituency long regarded as her political fortress. The poll results shrank the TMC's strength in the Assembly to 80 MLAs, leaving Banerjee to lead the opposition from a position of unprecedented weakness. The party had 215 MLAs in the 2021 state polls. Yet, what appeared to be a devastating ...

Our bid for TMC legislature party status got Speaker nod, claims Ritabrata

Expelled TMC leader Ritabrata Banerjee on Wednesday said the West Bengal Assembly speaker had accepted the rebel camp's bid to be recognised as the party's legislature wing and urged Mamata Banerjee to serve as its chief adviser. This came after 58 dissident MLAs backed legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been expelled from the TMC, as the leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose. The latest development effectively placed the control of the TMC's legislative party in the hands of dissidents and marked the most serious challenge yet to the authority of the party leadership following its defeat in the recent assembly polls. Addressing a press conference in the Assembly after meeting the Speaker, Ritabrata Banerjee said his camp had submitted the signatures of 58 MLAs elected on the TMC symbol and "our claim has been accepted by the Speaker". Claiming that a clear majority of the party's legislators were now behind him, he asser

TMC dissolves its committees in Bengal, announces organisational overhaul

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday dissolved all of its organisational committees in West Bengal and announced a comprehensive review of the party structure, a dramatic move that comes in the backdrop of rebellion by a large section of its legislators. In a statement posted on X, the TMC said that all committees of the party in West Bengal, as well as all of its frontal organisations, stood dissolved with immediate effect. The decision comes hours after dissident TMC MLAs moved the Assembly Speaker seeking recognition as a separate legislature party, deepening the crisis within the organisation following its recent electoral setback. "After careful consideration, it has been decided that all committees of the All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, as well as all its frontal organisations, shall stand dissolved with immediate effect," the party said. It said the party would undertake a "comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational ...