2026 Trinamool Congress split

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2026 Trinamool Congress split
Date2 June – 18 September 2026 (2026-06-02 – 2026-09-18)
Location
Kolkata, West Bengal
Delhi
Caused by
Goals
Result
Parties
Lead figures
Mamata Banerjee Kakoli Ghosh DastidarRitabrata Banerjee

The 2026 Trinamool Congress (AITC) split refers to the fracturing of the regional party that had governed West Bengal for fifteen consecutive years, into two rival factions in June 2026. The rupture created the Mamata Banerjee–Abhishek Banerjee bloc (later renamed as Mamata All India Trinamool Congress with symbol "football player") and the Ritabrata Banerjee–Sandipan Saha bloc (Democratic Trinamool Congress with symbol "envelope") within the party following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal polls. AITC was established in 1998, and the Election Commission of India recognises it as a regional party.

One faction of the party remained loyal to its founder and chairperson, Mamata Banerjee, and her nephew and general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee. The other—led by Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Sandipan Saha—positioned itself as the party's legislative wing in the new assembly and aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.

Background[edit | edit source]

On 4 May 2026, after the 2026 West Bengal assembly polls result was declared, 15-year ruling AITC government led by the founder-chairperson of the party and then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee lost the power from the state and for the first time, the India's ruling party, Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state with former Trinamool leader and once Mamata's close aide Suvendu Adhikari succeeding as Chief Minister on 9 May, after Mamata. Mamata Banerjee herself lost her seat, Bhabanipur, to her successor, Adhikari.[1][2]

After the defeat, Mamata Banerjee called a meeting of winning candidates in her residence in Kolkata, but out of 80 winning candidates, only 66 were present. Soon after, on 11 May, the party leadership declared former senior minister and newly elected AITC MLA from Ballygunge, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, as the Leader of Opposition through a letter by Abhishek Banerjee, the party's General Secretary.[3] But two AITC MLAs, namely Ritabrata Banerjee from Uluberia Purba and Sandipan Saha from Entally, allegedly complained to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Rathindra Bose, that the MLAs' signatures on the letter are forged. On 22 May, during CM Suvendu's tour to New Delhi, Ritabrata and Suvendu held a secret meeting at Banga Bhawan.[4]

Meanwhile, many councillors in various municipalities such as Bhatpara, Contai, and North Barrackpur resigned. In Chandannagar, the entire municipal board was dissolved after councillors and the mayor resigned. Soon after, on 26 May, MP from Barasat, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar resigned from various AITC organisational posts, taking responsibility for the party's defeat.[5][6] After her resignation, she attended CM Adhikari's administrative meeting in Kalyani with 20 elected AITC MLAs, including Swarupnagar MLA Bina Mondal, Haroa MLA Abdul Matin Muhammad, and Deganga MLA Anisur Rahaman Bidesh.[7][8]

On 1 June 2026, Ritabrata and Sandipan were permanently suspended from the party for publicly insulting Abhishek Banerjee for defeat.[9] Various spokespersons, including Riju Dutta, Kohinoor Mazumder, and Supriyo Chanda, were suspended from the party following their comments favouring the BJP government and Suvendu, and allegedly for anti-party activities such as openly blaming Abhishek Banerjee across various media platforms.[10][11] Two Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillors, Arup Chakraborty and Susanta Ghosh, also resigned from their posts.[12]

The Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, National Investigation Agency, Kolkata Police, and West Bengal Police arrested several AITC councillors, former ministers, MLAs, and other leaders, including Sujit Bose and Saokat Molla, against whom several complaints were lodged across the state.[13][14] After consulting with Mamata, former Minister and MLA from Kolkata Port and Mayor of Kolkata, Firhad Hakim resigned from his post on 5 June 2026.[15][16]

Outcome[edit | edit source]

After the suspension, 60 MLAs supported the Ritabrata–Sandipan faction, making Ritabrata the new Leader of Opposition and replacing Sovandeb Chattopadhyay. The list of 60 MLAs was handed over to the Speaker Rathindra Bose.[17] The split dissolved all AITC committees, and the party announced a review of the party structure.[18] After Ritabrata's appointment, a split occurred in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, as at least 20 Members of Parliament (MPs), led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, decided to support the National Democratic Alliance government at the centre.[19] Later, more MPs, including Mala Roy, Saayoni Ghosh, and Yusuf Pathan, also joined the rebels.[20]

Split in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly[edit | edit source]

Following the suspension of the rebel legislators, 60 MLAs declared their support for the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction, which was subsequently recognised by Speaker Rathindra Bose as the principal opposition bloc in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. Ritabrata Banerjee replaced Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition. The list of supporting MLAs was submitted to the Speaker.[21] The split resulted in competing claims over the organisation and leadership of the All India Trinamool Congress, with the rebel faction subsequently forming a parallel organisational structure. On 22 June, the faction held a special session at which Arup Roy was elected chairperson[17] and a 30-member National Working Committee was constituted, while the Mamata Banerjee-led faction continued to recognise Banerjee as party chairperson.

Split in the Lok Sabha and merger with NCPI[edit | edit source]

Leader of Rebel MPs, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar

Following the rebellion in legislative assembly, a separate split occurred within the TMC's Lok Sabha parliamentary party. In June 2026, 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs, led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, broke away from the TMC parliamentary group and sought recognition as a separate bloc in the Lok Sabha. The group submitted a representation to Speaker Om Birla and announced that it would merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The merger was accompanied by an announcement that the MPs would support the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the centre. The rebel MPs also stated that they intended to continue their claim to the TMC's original name and election symbol before the Election Commission.

Rajya Sabha split, resignation and BJP re-election[edit | edit source]

The split was followed by a separate wave of resignations from the Rajya Sabha. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigned from both the TMC and his Rajya Sabha seat on 8 June 2026, citing the party's mismanagement during the election,[22][23] followed by Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik in the following days. The three resignations created vacancies in three Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal.[24][25] On 9 July, Roy, Dev and Baraik joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and were subsequently nominated by the party for the Rajya Sabha by-elections to the seats they had vacated.[26] On 17 July, all three were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha as BJP candidates.[27][28][22]

ECI action and new symbols[edit | edit source]

On 2 July 2026, Ritabrata, Sandipan, and eight other MLAs went to Delhi to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to claim the party symbol and name, along with its funds. On 17 September 2026, ahead of the by-elections announced for Nandigram and Rejinagar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued an interim order recognising the existence of two rival groups within the All India Trinamool Congress and froze the party's name and its reserved "Flowers and Grass" symbol pending a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968[29]. The commission directed both factions to contest the by-elections under separate names and symbols. On 18 September, the ECI allotted the name Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the "Football Player" symbol to the faction led by Mamata Banerjee, while the faction led by Arup Roy was allotted the name Democratic Trinamool Congress and the "Envelope" symbol. The allotments were made as an interim arrangement for the by-elections and did not constitute a final determination of which faction was entitled to the original party name and symbol.[30]

Split and merger with NCPI in Lok Sabha[edit | edit source]

Main article: Nationalist Citizens Party of India

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar formed a group within the AITC and challenged Abhishek Banerjee's leadership. She met with several other MPs and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in Delhi. Soon after, she claimed that her group supported the Modi government. She sent a letter of support from the majority of AITC MPs to Om Birla, the Lok Sabha Speaker.[31]

Nationalist Citizens Party of India

The Rebels have announced a temporary merger with the NCPI and will fight for legitimacy as the Real AITC in the Supreme Court.[32] On 14 June 2026, Dastidar and other MPs, announced their merger with the NCPI.

List of Rebel Lok Sabha MPs, now NCPI MPs[edit | edit source]

No. Constituency Portrait Name Notes
1 Cooch Behar (SC) Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia
2 Jangipur Khalilur Rahaman
3 Baharampur Yusuf Pathan
4 Murshidabad Abu Taher Khan
5 Barrackpore Partha Bhowmick
6 Barasat Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar Leader
7 Mathurapur (SC) Bapi Halder
8 Jadavpur Saayoni Ghosh
9 Kolkata Dakshin Mala Roy
10 Kolkata Uttar Sudip Bandyopadhyay
11 Howrah Prasun Banerjee
12 Hooghly Rachana Banerjee
13 Arambagh (SC) Mitali Bag
14 Ghatal Deepak Adhikari
15 Jhargram (ST) Kalipada Soren
16 Medinipur June Malia
17 Bankura Arup Chakraborty
18 Bardhaman Purba (SC) Sharmila Sarkar
19 Bolpur (SC) Asit Kumar Mal
20 Birbhum Satabdi Roy Deputy Leader

Split in the Legislative Assembly[edit | edit source]

The Split first occurred in the Legislative Assembly when Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha complained to the Speaker of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly and secured support of 65 MLAs, including their signatures, for appointing Ritabrata as the leader of the opposition.

The following are some of the names of the MLAs who have rebelled:[33]

No. MLA Name Constituency
45 Prasun Banerjee Chanchal
53 Sabina Yeasmin Sujapur
56 Md Noor Alam Samserganj
59 Akhruzzaman Raghunathganj
60 Bayron Biswas[34] Sagardighi
73 Niamot Sheikh Hariharpara
112 Madan Mitra[35] Kamarhati
118 Rathin Ghosh Madhyamgram
120 Anisur Rahaman Bidesh Deganga
122 Usha Rani Mondal Minakhan
128 Nilima Mistry Basanti
130 Samir Kumar Jana Patharpratima
133 Barnali Dhara Kulpi
149 Javed Ahmed Khan Kasba
155 Subhasis Das Maheshtala
158 Firhad Hakim Kolkata Port
163 Sandipan Saha Entally
171 Arup Roy Howrah Madhya
174 Priya Paul Sankrail
175 Gulsan Mullick Panchla
176 Ritabrata Banerjee Uluberia Purba
184 Tapas Maity Domjur
194 Swati Khandoker Chanditala
235 Seuli Saha Keshpur
286 Chandranath Sinha Bolpur

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ "Mamata Banerjee Loses Bhabanipur Stronghold To Suvendu Adhikari". NDTV. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "Bhabanipur election results highlights: Mamata loses Bhabanipur bastion to Suvendu by a margin of 15,000 votes". Hindustan Times. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Sovandeb Chattopadhyay: Ex-Boxer, 10-Time MLA Now Bengal's Opposition Leader". NDTV. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "A Delhi corridor 'accidental' meet that triggered TMC's biggest split in 28 years". India Today. 4 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar steps down from all party posts amid leadership discontent". The Times of India. 27 May 2026. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Storm brewing in TMC? Mamata's longtime aide Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar quits party post". India Today. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, MLAs attend CM Suvendu Adhikari's administrative meeting in Kalyani". The Telegraph. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
  8. ↑ "Kakoli Dastidar at Bengal CM's meet day after quitting TMC post stirs switch buzz". India Today. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "TMC suspends 2 MLAs after Suvendu Adhikari's signature forgery claim". India Today. 1 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  10. ↑ "Trinamool Suspends 3 Spokespersons Over Anti-Party Remarks After Poll Defeat". NDTV. 10 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ex-TMC leader claims 20 MPs sent letter to BJP, warns: 'Assembly Dhurandhar 1, Parliament will be Dhurandhar 2'". Mint. 4 June 2026. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "ওড়িশার রাস্তায় গাড়ি ফেলে বেপাত্তা সুশান্ত! ৩ কোটির তোলাবাজি মামলায় তৃণমূল কাউন্সিলরকে খুঁজছে পুলিশ". Anandabazar Patrika. 5 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "এ বার বালতি চুরির অভিযোগে গ্রেফতার তৃণমূলের দুই নেতা! শ্রীরামপুরেও সেই 'চোর-চোর' স্লোগান". Anandabazar Patrika. 6 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Former Bengal Minister Sujit Bose Arrested In Money Laundering Case". NDTV. 11 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "'I don't want to cling to the chair': TMC leader Firhad Hakim resigns as mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation". The Telegraph. 5 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "'Leaving with my head held high': Mamata aide Firhad Hakim resigns as Kolkata mayor". The Times of India. 5 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Ritabrata Banerjee Appointed Leader Of Opposition In West Bengal Assembly Amid TMC Split". All India Radio. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Trinamool Congress announces organisational overhaul amid internal rebellion, dissolves all committees in Bengal". The Hindu. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 4 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "TMC Crisis Deepens: 20 MPs, Led By Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, To Back NDA". 8 June 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "19 TMC MPs join rebel group; Yusuf Pathan, Saayoni Ghosh, Mala Roy on list". The Times of India. 10 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Maiti, Subhendu (22 June 2026). "Mamata Banerjee removed as TMC chairperson by Ritabrata- led rebels". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "মমতার সঙ্গ ছাড়লেন সুদীপও! দুপুরে শতাব্দীর সঙ্গে ভূপেন্দ্রর বাড়ি, সন্ধ্যায় শাহি-সাক্ষাৎ, বিদ্রোহী শিবিরে নয়া সমীকরণ?". Anandabazar Patrika. 13 June 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy resigns, says 'I was unhappy in party'". The Indian Express. 8 June 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  24. ↑ "Hours after joining BJP, 3 former TMC MPs fielded for Rajya Sabha bypolls in Bengal". The Indian Express. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Trinamool in tatters: Another MP resigns from Rajya Sabha, 3rd in 4 days". The Indian Express. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  26. ↑ Chatterjee, Tanmay (9 July 2026). "3 ex-TMC MPs join BJP; to contest Rajya Sabha bypolls from seats they vacated". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "Weeks after quitting TMC, three former MPs elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on BJP tickets". The New Indian Express. 17 July 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "Just a moment…". theprint.in. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  29. ↑ "Trinamool name, symbol on interim freeze; factions told to pick new ones". The Indian Express. 17 September 2026. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  30. ↑ "New names, new symbols: EC allots 'football player' symbol to Mamata faction, rebels get 'envelope'". @theweek. Retrieved 18 September 2026.
  31. ↑ "TMC revolt: Saayoni Ghosh, Yusuf Pathan among 19 rebel TMC MPs who sent their names to Lok Sabha Speaker's Office". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  32. ↑ "All rebel TMC MPs to merge with Nationalist Citizens Party, extend support to NDA". India TV. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Rebel In TMC: Trinamool Splits In Two — Javed Khan, Shiuli Saha & The Full Rebel MLA List". News 18. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  34. ↑ Patra, Riya (7 June 2026). https://www.aajkaal.in/west-bengal/bayron-biswas-exclusive-reaction-about-his-stand-in-ritabrata-banerjee-team-498979. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. ↑ "Loyalist Madan Mitra crosses over to rebel camp in fresh blow to Mamata Banerjee's TMC faction". The Economic Times. 15 July 2026. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 15 July 2026.
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