As TMC splits in Delhi, Mamata's loyalists stand their ground

As Mamata Banerjee spent Monday in New Delhi holding meetings aimed at strengthening Opposition unity within the INDIA alliance, a political storm was gathering within her own party, which may soon no longer even be hers.

Reports emerged that around 20 Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs had submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing their desire to support the BJP-led NDA and seek recognition as a separate bloc. The development marked the most serious parliamentary challenge to Mamata Banerjee's leadership since she founded the TMC as a breakaway faction of the Congress, nearly three decades ago.

Yet amid the rebellion, a smaller group of eight MPs chose to stay.

For supporters of Mamata Banerjee, that loyalty carries significance beyond simple arithmetic. Several of those who remained are among the party's most recognisable faces and have shared some of the defining moments of theTMC's political journey.

The group includes Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, Kalyan Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, Saugata Roy, Kirti Azad, Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Mala Roy.

Some are political veterans who stood with Mamata Banerjee during the party's formative years. Others joined later and built their political careers under her leadership. Together, they represent a cross-section of the TMC's organisational, parliamentary and ideological core.

Abhishek Banerjee, the party's national general-secretary, remains central to the TMC's organisational structure. Mahua Moitra has emerged as one of the opposition's most prominent parliamentary voices, while Kalyan Banerjee has long served as one of Mamata Banerjee's most trusted lieutenants in Delhi.

Veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy is among the party's founding figures and has stood beside Mamata Banerjee through some of the most difficult phases of her political career. Sudip Bandyopadhyay, another leader closely associated with the party's formative years, remains one of its most experienced faces in Parliament.

Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy represent a newer generation of leaders who rose within the TMC under Mamata Banerjee's stewardship, while former cricketer Kirti Azad, despite joining the party after leaving the BJP, has become one of her most vocal defenders.

Indeed, just a day before the parliamentary revolt surfaced, Azad had strongly defended the TMC supremo and dismissed the rebel camp as "traitors".

"Mamata Banerjee has formed this party with her blood and sweat. She went to jail, got browbeaten and then she made the party stand where it is today. Remember, a wounded tigress is always more dangerous," he had said.

On Monday, as reports suggested a majority of the party's MPs had backed the rebel camp, Azad remained firmly in Mamata Banerjee's corner.

Saugata Roy was equally combative. Describing the developments as 'Operation Lotus' (a term coined to describe the BJP's strategy of luring away MPs and MLAs from rival parties), he alleged that efforts were underway to weaken Opposition parties.

"I was subjected to both fear and inducement," Roy claimed, adding that he had rejected any such approach. While declining to identify those involved, he questioned the parliamentary influence of some of the MPs backing the rebellion, even while acknowledging that several were senior figures within the party.

The rebel camp, meanwhile, appeared determined to press ahead. According to reports, the group is being led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy. Among those associated with the move are Dev, June Malia, Arup Chakraborty, Jagadish Barma Basunia, Asit Mal, Prasun Banerjee, Partha Bhowmick and Sharmila Sarkar, among others.

Sharmila Sarkar publicly outlined the dissidents' grievances. "This is not the result of a single day's grievance. We have dissociated ourselves from Trinamool. Everyone had complaints and grievances," she said, claiming she had faced organisational obstacles while attempting to carry out development work in her constituency.

Ghosh Dastidar reportedly said around 20 MPs had decided to formally write to the Speaker and extend support to the NDA.

The reported presence of Ghatal MP Dev in the rebel camp also prompted a sharp reaction from TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh (who has himself stood by the TMC despite a stint in prison and public spats with Mamata Banerjee), who argued that the development vindicated warnings he had issued in the past.

"Dev is an actor par excellence. However, the party supremo and senior leaders will surely realise today whether my observations regarding his politics were correct," Ghosh wrote, referring to his long-standing criticism of the actor-politician's perceived proximity to BJP leaders.

The developments also drew reactions from outside the Trinamool. Indian Secular Front leader Naushad Siddiqui took a swipe at the dissident MPs, alleging that many were motivated by fear. "These leaders are either afraid of the people or of Central agencies because of what they have done over the years. That is why they have no option but to side with the BJP," he said.

Despite the turmoil, the TMC leadership sought to project confidence. While the rebellion may have altered the party's parliamentary arithmetic, leaders close to Mamata Banerjee insisted that its organisational roots, ideological identity and political influence remain intact.

For many supporters, the image that endured at the end of the day was not of those leaving, but of those who stayed — a small group of loyalists standing by the leader who built the party from scratch and transformed it into Bengal's dominant political force.