Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 4 : As infighting within the TMC intensifies with the resignation of party's state unit president Chandrima Bhattacharya, Indian Secular Front (ISF) chairman Naushad Siddiqui on Saturday claimed that Bhattacharya's decision was driven by political interests.
"She has stayed there as long as there was something to gain; now that the benefit is gone, she has left to join the other side," Siddiqui said.
Commenting on the internal rift within the TMC, Siddiqui said, "They are fighting their own battles. It has nothing to do with us. The day the party loses power, you won't find even a single person standing by them. Just look, it hasn't even been two months, and see what has happened to the party; it's finished."
However, BJP MLA Debasish Dhar said that Bhattacharya's resignation underscored what he described as the weakening condition of the TMC.
"Half went this way, half went that way; now, there is practically no one left with her (Mamata Banerjee). This was inevitable; the TMC wasn't really a conventional political party. It functioned more like a family-run entity, which is why its condition has deteriorated so much, and it's going to get even worse," Dhar said.
Claiming that the party leadership was increasingly isolated, Dhar added, "Mamata Banerjee is left with no one who can truly stand by her. Chandrima Bhattacharya was one of Mamata Banerjee's closest associates, and even she has left."
These remarks come after West Bengal TMC president and former Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya on Saturday resigned from all party posts.
The resignation comes at a time of high drama in West Bengal politics, as the property owner of the TMC's state party office in Kolkata locked the premises from the inside following reports that a rebel faction, led by Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Ritabrata Banerjee, had taken possession of the building.
In her resignation letter addressed to Mamata Banerjee, Bhattacharya stated that she was stepping down from the post of State President conferred upon her in June 2026. She also withdrew herself as the authorised signatory for the party's bank accounts and as 'Didi's' authorised person before the Election Commission of India.