Congress Rebel to Bengal Supremo & a Poll Scar: Mamata’s Turbulent Political Saga as Sonia Woos Her Back Home Amid TMC Split

New Delhi/Kolkata: In a significant political development that could reshape opposition dynamics ahead of future battles, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has extended a formal invitation to All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee to rejoin the grand old party, sources have claimed. Banerjee, who served as West Bengal Chief Minister until the party’s recent electoral setback, has reportedly been offered the position of National Vice President, while her nephew and TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee has been offered the role of National General Secretary. The former Chief Minister has neither accepted nor rejected the offer outright, instead seeking time to consider the proposal.

The overture comes at a turbulent time for the Trinamool Congress, which is navigating internal rebellion and a split following its loss of power in West Bengal after 15 years. It also marks a striking chapter in Banerjee’s long and combative political journey -- one that began within the Congress fold, evolved into a fierce breakaway, and built one of India’s most successful regional parties before hitting recent headwinds.

Roots in Congress and the Seeds of Dissent

Mamata Banerjee entered politics in the turbulent 1970s as a young activist with the Indian National Congress in West Bengal. A firebrand orator with deep grassroots connect, she rose quickly through the ranks. She became General Secretary of the state Mahila Congress and, in 1984, achieved a major upset by defeating veteran CPI(M) leader Somnath Chatterjee to enter the Lok Sabha from Jadavpur as one of the youngest parliamentarians at the time.

According to information available in the public domain, Mamata Banerjee's political entry into the Indian National Congress (INC) in the 1970s was primarily facilitated by veteran Congress leader Subrata Mukherjee. The late Congress leader Ananda Gopal Mukherjee, who served as the president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) in the early 1980s, was a key figure in elevating Mamata Banerjee to prominence. However, her initial recruitment and grassroots entry into Congress politics began earlier in the 1970s under the mentorship of Subrata Mukherjee, who introduced her name and capabilities to higher-level leaders like Pranab Mukherjee.

Her early career was defined by vocal opposition to the long-ruling Left Front government in West Bengal. Banerjee served multiple terms in Parliament and held key organisational positions in the Congress. However, growing disillusionment with the state unit’s leadership, internal factionalism, and what she perceived as a soft approach toward the Communists led to deepening rifts.

By the mid-1990s, Banerjee’s frustration peaked. She demanded a more aggressive stance against the Left and greater autonomy for the state Congress. After failing to secure the position of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president, she made the bold decision to part ways. On January 1, 1998, she founded the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), positioning it as a “grassroots” alternative to the “elitist” Congress and a direct challenger to the CPI(M).

The Rise of TMC: From Breakaway to Powerhouse

The early years of TMC were marked by alliances of convenience -- first with the NDA, where Banerjee briefly served as Railway Minister, and later experiments with Congress itself against the Left. Her party’s big breakthrough came through sustained anti-Left mobilisation, most notably the Singur agitation against land acquisition for the Tata Nano project. Banerjee’s 25-day hunger strike became a rallying point, helping catapult TMC to victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and eventually ending 34 years of Left rule in the 2011 West Bengal Assembly elections.

Banerjee became the state’s first woman Chief Minister in 2011. Under her leadership, TMC grew into a dominant regional force, blending welfarism, Bengali pride, and fierce anti-BJP rhetoric in later years. The party played a key role in national opposition efforts, including the INDIA bloc, even as it maintained its distinct identity separate from Congress.

A Potential Reunion Amid Crisis

The reported offer from Sonia Gandhi comes after Banerjee’s recent meetings with Congress leadership amid TMC’s post-poll challenges. The party suffered a significant defeat to the BJP in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections and is now grappling with a formal split, with dozens of rebel MLAs forming a separate bloc.

Sources close to the developments suggest the invitation reflects a desire for greater opposition unity. For Banerjee, the decision involves weighing personal and political legacy: returning to Congress after nearly three decades as its rival in Bengal, or attempting to rebuild TMC independently.

Whether this leads to a formal merger, renewed alliance, or remains a strategic consultation is unclear. What is evident is the irony of history -- the leader who walked out to create her own destiny is now being wooed back into the very organisation she once left behind.

In Indian politics, full circles are rare, but they are rarely without consequence.