Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], July 15 : Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday joined hands with the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction, blaming General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee for his exit. Following the addition of another to the dissidents' group, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that she can "restart" the party if needed.
In a fresh blow to Mamata Banerjee, Madan Mitra, who was inducted into the party's state committee as General Secretary, resigned from the TMC and joined the rebel faction.
He told ANI that he resigned from Mamata Banerjee's TMC as he was unable to work effectively. He said that his concerns went unaddressed by the party leadership.
"I resigned because I was no longer able to work effectively within Mamata Banerjee's TMC. I have stepped down from all the committees I was part of. More and more of Mamata Banerjee's long-time associates are leaving the party because, in my view, the leadership is focused on promoting Abhishek Banerjee rather than strengthening the organisation. TMC is not one person's party," Mitra said.
"I raised these concerns with Mamata Banerjee on several occasions, but they were not addressed. In my view, Abhishek Banerjee wants decisions to be made solely on his terms and does not allow others to play a meaningful role. As a result, I believe the party's position is weakening," he said.
Hitting back, former CM Mamata Banerjee said that she has no issues in restarting the party like in 2006, and said, "Today we have 18 MPs. Yes, some are being threatening. Even today, one man left (the party). He told me yesterday that his family is being threatened. I will say - those who want to leave, please do. If I can restart (the party) in 2006, I can do it in 2026."
Between 2004-2006, the TMC chief had faced a string of defeats, with TMC's assembly strength significantly reduced after a huge defeat in 2006. In 2004, while allying with the BJP for the elections, she became the only TMC MP from West Bengal in the Lok Sabha in 2005.
West Bengal Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Ritabrata Banerjee called the split in the TMC a "fight against authoritarianism."
Ritabrata Banerjee said, " It is a fight against authoritarianism, fascist tendencies and the concentration of power, and in support of democracy and collective decision-making. More people are joining this movement. Anubrata Mondal will also join the movement (July 21 rally). When attempts are made to undermine democracy and impose authoritarian rule, they may succeed for a while. But in the long run, democracy will prevail."
The rebel faction has portrayed itself as a "collective team."
Ritabrata Banerjee added, "Collective is here; we are fighting the collective's fight. I have not heard what she has said. This is our fight of dialogue against monologue. That side has monologues, and this side has dialogues."
Echoing a similar sentiment, rebel TMC leader Chandrima Bhattacharya said, "I will not analyse what she is saying. But AITC and our strength are further expanding because good organisers are coming and joining us. We are getting stronger. We are working as a collective team. Collectivity is required because everyone unites to work; the work will gain strength and be fruitful. Our collective team is against individual cult."
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC alleged that Madan Mitra jumped sides after being threatened by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged the use of central agencies against the party leaders.
"Yesterday, Madan Mitra's wife and son were summoned by the ED. Perhaps he succumbed to that pressure. The so-called rebels have no workers. They send ED, CBI and CID to scare and pressure people. Madan Mitra might be on that side physically. But who did he call a 'rapist' two days ago?" Ghosh said.
Responding to the remarks against her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata asserted, "Today Abhishek is very bad for you (rebel TMC leaders). You don't remember that his wife went to CBI with their children. He could have done a setting and got relief. If he made any mistakes, he overcame them because he is fighting like a tiger."
Madan Mitra switched sides amid an internal organisational rift within the party, after Ritabrata Banerjee led a rebel faction with at least 58 MLAs and "took control" of the party headquarters, following the debacle in the 2026 Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, the rebel faction held a meeting ahead of the July 21 'Shaheed Diwas' in West Bengal to commemorate the 13 Youth Congress workers who were killed in police firing during a protest under the Left Front regime in 1993.
Anubrata Mandal, who recently joined hands with Ritabrata Banerjee, was also present in the meeting.
Mandal also blamed Abhishek Banerjee for his exit and accused Mamata Banerjee of not listening to his concerns.
Mandal told reporters, "I left the party not because of Mamata Banerjee, but because of Abhishek Banerjee. I had to go to jail because of Abhishek Banerjee. Abhishek Banerjee is the reason behind the downfall of the Trinamool Congress. I repeatedly told Mamata Banerjee to mend things, but Mamata Banerjee neither sees nor listens."
Anubrata Mandal was once considered to be a loyalist of Mamata Banerjee; however, he switched to the rebel faction and was named its Birbhum district president.
Amid the rebellion in the TMC, the ruling BJP has maintained a distance, stating that the party is not concerned with the internal matters of the opposition party.
BJP State General Secretary Locket Chatterjee said that the ruling party was not concerned with TMC leaders switching camps, stating that the opposition party was "almost finished."
"Who is going where is not our concern. Our only focus is the development of the people. TMC as a party is almost finished. At present, it is unclear who is aligning with whom and who is trying to protect their own interests," the BJP leader said.
Meanwhile, the two TMC factions have announced separate rallies on July 21.