Yet another blow to Mamata: TMC Bengal chief Chandrima Bhattacharya resigns

Kolkata: Dealing another major blow to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party’s West Bengal state president, Chandrima Bhattacharya, resigned from her post on Saturday. The move comes barely a month after she was handed the vital organisational role following the party’s defeat in the state assembly elections.

In her resignation letter addressed to the TMC chairperson, Bhattacharya also stepped down from all other party positions, sparking widespread speculation that she has effectively severed ties with Banerjee's wing of the party.

Bhattacharya had been appointed state president on June 3 during the party’s national working committee meeting at Mamata Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, succeeding senior leader Subrata Bakshi. Along with her resignation, she withdrew her status as the authorised signatory for the bank accounts of the TMC and its affiliates, and stepped down as Banerjee’s designated representative for Election Commission matters.

A former Minister of State who previously managed key portfolios like Finance and Health, and a prominent leader of the TMC's women's wing, Bhattacharya was long considered one of the closest and most loyal aides to the party supremo.

"At the end I would like to state that I have the highest regards for you and will remain ever respectful to you," she stated in her resignation letter.

Speaking to journalists, Bhattacharya later clarified that her resignation was prompted by an admonishment over the phone from Banerjee. The TMC chief reportedly blamed her for allowing the rebel faction, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, to seize control of the party's operational headquarters, Trinamool Bhavan, in Kolkata on Friday.

Bhattacharya had been at the office when the rebel group entered the building but left shortly afterward. The dissident leaders subsequently held a meeting inside, locked the main gates and announced they would operate from the premises going forward.

"I was deeply hurt when she (Mamata Banerjee) called me to say that I have handed over the party office to them (the rebels), although I do not know how I did that. It is evident that my loyalty and trustworthiness were shaken from their roots. This had never happened in the past. Once those fundamental binding forces are gone, there is no reason for me to stay in the party or return to it," Bhattacharya told reporters.

When asked if she intended to formally join the rebel faction, Bhattacharya said, "There's more to life than this. I am yet to decide the course I will chart." She declined to comment further on the escalating internal factional warfare, noting that "the matters are sub judice either before the Election Commission or before the court".

However, shortly after her press interaction, Bhattacharya was seen attending a meeting with rebel camp leaders in the Legislative Assembly chamber of Ritabrata Banerjee, who serves as the Leader of the Opposition. She was welcomed at the Assembly gates by Sandipan Saha, the deputy leader of the Opposition and a prominent rebel figure. Her son, Sourav Basu—a former TMC Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor—had already joined the rebel camp weeks prior and was also present at the assembly meeting.

The Mamata Banerjee loyalist camp quickly hit back at the resignation.

"I will not comment in detail about the development that has only just taken place. However, I will say this: Her (Bhattacharya's) self-esteem was never hurt when Mamata Banerjee entrusted her with responsibilities of key departments in the government. It has only surfaced after the party lost the polls," Kunal Ghosh, TMC MLA and Mamata-loyalist, said, taking a jibe at the dissident leader.

Bhattacharya, a three-time MLA, suffered a defeat in the 2026 assembly elections to the BJP's Sourav Sikdar in the Dum Dum Uttar constituency. Her exit highlights the steady erosion of the TMC’s top leadership following its electoral defeat.

The party has seen high-profile exits, including former Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, veteran MLA Jawed Khan, and senior leader Golam Rabbani, who have all aligned with the Ritabrata Banerjee-led dissident wing. Furthermore, 20 out of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs have formed a breakaway group, merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India to back the NDA. The organisational crisis has now reached the Election Commission, as the rebel faction claims ownership of the party’s name, symbol, and treasury.

PTI