Following a massive exodus of its Members of Parliament, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has faced another severe blow. West Bengal's Bidhannagar Police have ordered a debit freeze on three separate TMC bank accounts located at the HDFC Bank Central Plaza branch in Kolkata. The frozen accounts contain a cumulative balance of roughly ₹440 crore, halting all outgoing financial transactions.

 

Rebellion leads to FIR and police action

The intervention follows a formal complaint and subsequent FIR lodged at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime police station by a coalition of 10 rebel MLAs under the leadership of Biswanath Das. This breakaway faction, which aligns with the Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee in the State Assembly, flagged the risk of unauthorised transactions and the potential funneling of illicit funds.

In response, Kunal Ghosh, speaking for Mamata Banerjee’s camp, stated that they are closely monitoring the situation and plan to legally challenge the debit freeze in court. Ghosh asserted that Subhasish Chakraborty is the party's newly appointed treasurer, dismissing claims made by Arup Biswas. He added that the party's operational expenses would currently be sustained via MP funds.

 

‘Real Trinamool’ camp demands probe

Defending the police intervention, Sandipan Saha, an MLA representing the self-proclaimed "Real Trinamool" faction, welcomed the move and demanded a comprehensive probe into the origin of the ₹440 crore. This financial freeze further cripples the TMC, which is already reeling from the collapse of its parliamentary presence in the Lok Sabha and widespread dissent within municipal corporations.

The internal power struggle has plagued the TMC ever since its defeat by the BJP in the April–May assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee’s party, which had maintained an undefeated 15-year streak in the state, managed to secure just 80 seats, while the BJP surged past the 200-mark in the 294-member House. Soon after the electoral loss, a faction of TMC lawmakers openly revolted, targeting Banerjee's leadership style and the centralization of authority under her nephew and TMC National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee.