Didi cracks down on rebels, removes Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy from key TMC posts

In a dramatic escalation of the crisis engulfing the Trinamool Congress (TMC), party supremo Mamata Banerjee has stripped Lok Sabha MPs Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy of key organisational responsibilities, days after reappointing them to those very positions as part of a sweeping restructuring exercise aimed at consolidating control over the embattled party.

According to party sources, Ghosh has been removed as president of the Trinamool Youth Congress and replaced by youth leader Arnab Banerjee. Similarly, Kolkata Dakshin MP Mala Roy has been replaced by Kaliganj MLA Alifa Ahmed as president of the Trinamool Mahila Congress.

The reshuffle comes amid an unprecedented rebellion within the party following the TMC's crushing defeat in the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. Both Ghosh and Roy are believed to have aligned themselves with a growing dissident bloc of TMC MPs who are challenging Mamata Banerjee's leadership and preparing to seek formal recognition as the "real TMC" in Parliament.

The rebel faction has announced plans to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday and submit a letter seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary group. According to leaders of the breakaway camp, as many as 20 of the TMC's 28 Lok Sabha MPs have already signed the letter, including Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy.

The crisis deepened further on Saturday with reports that veteran parliamentarian Sudip Bandyopadhyay had also joined the dissident camp. If the rebels' claims are accurate, Mamata Banerjee's loyalist camp would be reduced to just eight MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Adding to the political shockwaves, dissident MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has publicly stated that the breakaway group, once recognised, would extend support to the BJP-led NDA in Parliament, a move that would fundamentally alter Bengal's political landscape.

The latest removals mark a sharp reversal from June 5, when Mamata Banerjee dissolved all organisational committees and frontal organisations before unveiling a revamped party structure packed with trusted loyalists and senior leaders. Ironically, both Ghosh and Roy were reappointed to lead the youth and women's wings respectively during that overhaul. Banerjee had also reappointed her nephew, Diamond Harbour MP Abhishek Banerjee, as the party's national general secretary.

"These replacement decisions were already taken at a party meeting held three days ago," a senior TMC Rajya Sabha MP said on condition of anonymity.

Expressing anger over the rebellion, the leader used a Bengali proverb to describe the dissidents. “Mamata didi doodh kola diye shaap pushechhilo (Mamata didi nurtured them with milk and honey, but they turned out to be snakes),” he said, referring to the rebel MPs.

In another significant organisational change, TMC spokesperson and Beleghata MP Kunal Ghosh has been appointed president of the party's North Kolkata organisational district, replacing Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

“In the wake of the recent developments, the party has asked me to shoulder responsibilities for the post,” Kunal Ghosh told reporters.

Meanwhile, veteran MP Saugata Roy has been appointed chief advisor to the TMC's Lok Sabha wing, which now comprises the small group of MPs who continue to remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee.

With the party facing its most serious internal revolt since its formation, the latest organisational shake-up underscores Mamata Banerjee's attempt to regain control of a fractured outfit battling defections, leadership challenges and an existential crisis in the aftermath of its electoral setback.

With PTI inputs