Rebel Camp Escalates TMC Crisis With Move Against Mamata And Abhishek Banerjee

In a seismic shift that has rocked West Bengal politics, a rebel 'real Trinamool' faction, fronted by Ritabrata Banerjee, the state's Leader of Opposition, unilaterally removed Mamata Banerjee as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, as its national general secretary late on Monday. This audacious move saw the rebel camp installing veteran MLA Arup Roy as the new party chairperson and forming a parallel 30-member National Working Committee, igniting the deepest crisis within the TMC since its 1998 inception. The rebels justify their actions by citing a 'constitutional crisis,' alleging the main TMC leadership failed to reconstitute the National Working Committee within the mandated three-year period, with the previous committee's tenure expiring in February 2026. This dramatic challenge follows the TMC crushing defeat in the May 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, which ended Mamata Banerjee 15-year rule and saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) form a government under Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. The rebel group claims significant backing, with around 60-65 MLA and 70 Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor supporting their legitimacy, comfortably exceeding the two-thirds threshold needed to bypass the anti-defection law. Unsurprisingly, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction has vehemently dismissed the rebel group's actions as illegal and a 'comedy show' by disgruntled elements, issuing show-cause notice to the dissident MLA. Further escalating the conflict, the official TMC on Tuesday expelled eight senior leaders who had joined the rebel camp, including newly appointed rebel chairperson Arup Roy. With the 'real Trinamool' faction preparing to petition the Election Commission of India for recognition and control of the party symbol, this internal war promises a volatile period of legal and political battles, potentially reshaping West Bengal's political landscape for years to come.