TMC Split Deepens: Mamata Ousted, Abhishek Banerjee Suspended As Rebel Faction Forms Parallel 30-Member Committee

Kolkata: Nearly 3 decades after Mamata Banerjee broke away to form the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in 1998, the party is facing its most serious internal rupture to date. For the first time in its history, a dissident group has moved beyond questioning the leadership and has set up the “real” Trinamool Congress, ousting Mamata Banerjee as chairperson. The latest development signalled that the crisis is no longer just about numbers in the legislature, but has extended to control over who takes over the party that Mamata built.

In another major setback for Mamata Banerjee, the rebel faction led by Rajya Sabha MP Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday named senior Howrah Central MLA Arup Roy as chairperson of the breakaway party. The rebels followed the appointment by announcing the suspension of National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, making clear that their challenge extended into the core of the party’s organisational identity. The decision to name a new party chief, replacing Mamata Banerjee, coming right after the Trinamool Congress’s setback in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, has turned a long-simmering disagreement over direction into an open contest for legitimacy.

The rival camp insisted that its actions are grounded in constitutional procedure and claimed backing from a big section of elected representatives. The political shift, which began as internal dissent, has now hardened into a high-stakes dispute over the party’s future. The move represented a major setback for Mamata Banerjee, who has held firm control since the party’s inception, at a moment when the organisation is already dealing with post-poll introspection and growing unease within the party. 

Parallel Party Structure Takes Shape

As per reports, the rebel leaders, MLAs and councillors gathered at a 5-star hotel in New Town to deliberate on the “constitutional crisis”. Senior figures including Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Asim Bose, Jui Biswas and Tarak Singh were present, along with rebel legislators, councillors and former representatives from Kolkata, Howrah, Murshidabad, Berhampore and several other districts.

Ritabrata Banerjee stated to those assembled that the previous national working committee, constituted in February 2022, had completed its 3-year term without being reconstituted. “The organisational structure was not reconstituted after the expiry of its tenure. Therefore, it became necessary to initiate the process of rebuilding the party's national leadership in accordance with the constitution,” a leader present at the meeting quoted Banerjee as saying. Acting on that premise, the meeting formed a new 30-member national working committee, with the initial body including Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee, and it elected Arup Roy as chairperson by voice vote.

The breakaway group then appointed Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin as vice-chairpersons. Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha were made general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman Ansari took charge as treasurer. In its first resolution, the new committee decided to appoint an independent auditor to scrutinise the party’s financial records, a move framed as a step toward transparency.

Scale Of Rebellion Reaches Assembly And Parliament

The rebel sources said that around 60 MLAs and several councillors, including members of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, attended or backed Monday’s meeting. The faction had earlier displayed its strength when a majority of TMC legislators supported Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition (LoP), rejecting Mamata Banerjee’s choice. The dissidents now claim the backing of about 65 members in the state assembly.

On the other hand, the split in the party has also reached the national stage, as 20 of the party’s 28 Lok Sabha MPs have broken away to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The cross-over meant that the rebellion is no longer confined to Bengal’s legislative corridors but has reshaped the party’s footprint in Parliament as well, leaving the original TMC to fight on two fronts, including defending its organisational claim and holding together the remains of its elected base.