‘We Aren’t Rats Who Flee in Hard Times’: TMC MP Kirti Azad Stands Firm With Mamata, Slams Rebel MLAs

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kirti Azad delivered an aggressive, unscripted defense of party supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday, revealing that his official security detail has been abruptly stripped away as punishment for refusing to join a mounting internal mutiny.

Speaking to reporters in the national capital, the former cricketer-turned-politician rejected the intense pressure being applied by a breakaway faction of rebel lawmakers, declaring that real loyalty is proven when a party’s back is against the wall.

"Now they are pressuring me; they’ve even removed my security," Azad said, brushing off the tactical move. "Well, if they’ve removed it, so be it; we’ll fight. We stand together; we aren't rats who flee during hard times. We are the kind who stand by each other in adversity."

The outburst exposes the raw, vindictive nature of the current internal turmoil tearing through the TMC, occurring at a moment where the party is fighting for its very survival. Following a devastating defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections, the party has completely fractured. Dozens of rebel MLAs and several MPs are actively jumping ship, leaving those who choose to stay behind exposed to political retaliation.

Azad made it clear he has zero respect for the veteran leaders heading up the defection pipeline, many of whom spent decades enjoying the perks of power under Mamata Banerjee's banner before abandoning her the moment the party lost an election.

"Didi has done so much for us; we cannot betray her," Azad said, pointing out the hypocrisy of the rebels. "These people stayed for 30 or 40 years, became MPs three or four times... it’s their flawed mindset. I just don't understand it."

The internal conflict has split the TMC into two clear camps. Rebel lawmakers argue that change is necessary after the party's election defeat. On the other side, leaders who choose to stay, like Azad, argue that party members should show solidarity rather than leaving when times get tough.

The Ultimatum: Kalyan Banerjee Forces a Choice

Azad’s fierce defense of the leadership comes exactly as the party faces an unprecedented internal crisis. In a dramatic escalation, senior leader and Lok Sabha Chief Whip Kalyan Banerjee has issued a direct "him-or-me" ultimatum to Mamata Banerjee.

Kalyan Banerjee has demanded that the West Bengal Chief Minister choose between her nephew and TMC National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, and the old guard of the party. The tipping point involves disagreements around the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) forgery case against Abhishek, where he has been ordered to appear for questioning.

"I am with TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee, but she must decide whether to keep Abhishek Banerjee or me," Kalyan Banerjee stated, laying down a definitive political ultimatum. "If she decides she cannot move the party forward without Abhishek, then I will not be there."

With those words, the veteran leader explicitly confirmed his willingness to resign and walk away from the TMC if Mamata Banerjee chooses her political heir over the party's veteran stalwarts. The timing of this internal explosion could not be worse. The friction between the old loyalists of TMC and Abhishek Banerjee has simmered for years, but this is the first time a loyalist as powerful as the Lok Sabha Chief Whip has forced Mamata Banerjee into a corner.

A Potential Reunion Amid Crisis

As the TMC struggles with internal division, the Indian National Congress has moved to capitalise on the situation. Sources confirm that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has extended a formal invitation to Mamata Banerjee to rejoin the party she left nearly three decades ago.

The proposal includes a formal merger of the remaining TMC structure into the Congress. Under the offered terms, Mamata Banerjee would be appointed as the National Vice President of the Congress, while Abhishek Banerjee would take on the role of National General Secretary. Sources close to the developments indicate that the former Chief Minister has requested more time to deliberate with her remaining advisors.

The invitation marks a striking historical turn. Mamata Banerjee began her political career in the 1970s as a firebrand youth activist within the Congress party in West Bengal, mentored by veteran leaders like Subrata Mukherjee and Ananda Gopal Mukherjee. She rose rapidly, winning a historic Lok Sabha victory in 1984 against CPI(M) stalwart Somnath Chatterjee in Jadavpur.

However, by the mid-1990s, deep policy differences and internal factionalism created an unbridgeable rift between Banerjee and the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. Disillusioned by what she viewed as the state unit's soft approach toward the ruling Communist regime, she broke away to found the All India Trinamool Congress on January 1, 1998. Over the next decade, she built the TMC into a formidable regional powerhouse, eventually unseating the Left Front in 2011 through grassroots movements like the Singur land agitation.

While the TMC leadership in Kolkata has maintained a strict silence regarding both Kalyan Banerjee's ultimatum and Sonia Gandhi's offer, insiders acknowledge that the party cannot sustain its current fractured state. Whether these developments lead to a formal merger with the Congress, a total restructuring of the TMC leadership, or further defections will become clear in the coming days.

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