Mamata Banerjee's TMC Is Crumbling From Within. Can She Hold It Together?
Something shifted in West Bengal after May 4, 2026. Not gradually. Not quietly. It happened the way dams break — suddenly, and all at once.
Mamata Banerjee, the woman who built the Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the ground up in 1998, who outfought the Left for decades, who won Bengal three consecutive times lost her own seat in Bhabanipur. BJP's Suvendu Adhikari beat her by 15,000 votes, as the BJP registered a historic victory, bagging over 200 seats out of 294, while the ruling TMC won around 80 seats.
That result, by any measure, was not just a defeat. It was a reckoning.
What Is Happening Inside TMC Right Now
The election loss alone would have been survivable. What followed was something far more dangerous for Mamata's future.
The Trinamool Congress is facing what may be its most serious internal crisis since its formation in 1998. Weeks after facing a humiliating defeat, nearly 100 councillors have resigned from municipal bodies across West Bengal, senior leaders are openly voicing dissent, and speculation is growing over further exits.
The cracks are not just at the bottom. They run straight to the top.
TMC councillors Sushanta Ghosh and Arup Chakraborty resigned from their posts in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and aired grievances against the top leadership on television debates. Santanu Sen resigned as TMC national spokesperson and publicly commented on his understanding of the RG Kar incident.
Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar revolted within hours of being replaced as chief whip. In her resignation letter, she blamed political consultancy firm I-PAC for having "ruined" the party, writing: "I do not think difficult work can be accomplished through fly-by-night agencies." In a message directed at Mamata, she urged: "Take charge, leader."
That last line carries weight. A sitting MP telling the party chief to take control of her own party that is not routine dissent. That is an alarm.
The Abhishek Problem Nobody Is Saying Out Loud
Much of the current revolt is being directed at Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and his style of functioning.
Partha Chatterjee accused Mamata of turning the TMC into a political training ground for Abhishek, stating: "The party cannot be a place for someone's grooming."
Abhishek Banerjee has been the party's national general secretary, the man many saw as Mamata's heir apparent. He ran the party's election strategy with I-PAC. When Bengal was lost, finger-pointing needed a direction and it pointed at him.
Tensions escalated after demolition notices were reportedly issued to 17 properties linked to Abhishek Banerjee, and the BJP released a list of 43 properties allegedly linked to him. For a party already struggling to look clean, that kind of headline is corrosive.
Why Bengal Turned Away: The Accumulation of Damage
This defeat did not happen overnight. It was assembled over years.
The RG Kar Medical College rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor in August 2024 triggered mass protests that shook Mamata's image as the protector of ordinary Bengalis. The teachers' recruitment scam, where the Supreme Court cancelled over 25,000 appointments linked to fraudulent hiring, had already stripped away her credibility with the middle class. With the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election less than a year away at that point, the scandal could unravel Banerjee's grip on her base especially the middle class. It did.
Add to this the I-PAC strategy that many ground-level workers felt sidelined by, the perception that old loyalists were being overlooked, and a BJP that had spent five years patiently rebuilding its Bengal network — and the writing was already on the wall.
Can Mamata Banerjee Still Rebuild TMC?
The question people are now asking, and not finding easy answers to: does Mamata have the political energy, the organisational depth, and the public trust to rebuild?
Analysts believe the ongoing developments could significantly impact the TMC's grassroots network ahead of future elections.
What Mamata has always had is something that political structures cannot manufacture personal charisma and a direct emotional connect with ordinary Bengalis, especially women, the poor, and minority communities. That has not vanished. But charisma alone does not win elections when an institution is collapsing beneath you.
The immediate challenge is the Nandigram bypoll. The party is reportedly struggling to identify a candidate for the upcoming Nandigram bypoll. That struggle is symbolic a party that once had no shortage of battle-ready leaders now cannot fill a single seat without difficulty.
The harder challenge is the next five years in opposition. A party built around one woman, with a nephew widely accused of centralising power, with a hundred civic leaders now walking out, needs structural reform — not just a new face on posters.
Closing Thought
Mamata Banerjee has defied political death before. She was written off in 2001, in 2006, and people predicted her end after Nandigram in 2021. She survived all of it.
But this time, the damage is internal. It is her own people writing resignation letters, her own MP saying "take charge, leader." When the revolt comes from inside the house, it is harder to fight than any opponent across the street.
Whether TMC becomes an effective opposition party or slowly dissolves into Bengal's political history — that story is still being written. And Mamata, as always, is at the centre of it.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on information available across the web. Parchar Manch does not take responsibility for its complete accuracy, as the content could not be fully verified.
FAQs
What happened to TMC in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election?
The BJP won a historic majority, securing over 200 of 294 seats. TMC was reduced to around 80 seats. Mamata Banerjee herself was defeated in Bhabanipur by Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 15,000 votes.
Why are TMC leaders resigning after the 2026 election?
Nearly 100 municipal councillors and several senior leaders have resigned citing frustration with the party's top leadership, particularly anger directed at Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee and the role of political consultancy firm I-PAC in election strategy.
Who is Abhishek Banerjee and why is he controversial within TMC?
Abhishek Banerjee is Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the TMC's national general secretary. He has been increasingly influential in party decisions but is accused by senior leaders of centralising power and sidelining experienced workers, contributing to the party's organizational disconnect ahead of the 2026 polls.
What is I-PAC and why are TMC leaders blaming it?
I-PAC, or the Indian Political Action Committee, is a political consultancy firm that worked with TMC ahead of the 2026 election. Several senior TMC leaders have publicly accused it of treating party workers poorly and of operating outside direct control of the party leadership.
Is there any chance TMC can recover as an opposition party?
Politically, TMC still retains around 80 assembly seats and a Lok Sabha presence. Mamata Banerjee's personal connect with voters, especially among women and the poor, remains real. However, structural reforms, addressing the Abhishek-versus-old-guard tension, and rebuilding at the grassroots level will determine whether TMC stays relevant or fragments further.
What is the Nandigram bypoll and why does it matter for TMC?
With Mamata having lost her Bhabanipur seat, there is discussion around upcoming bypolls. The party's reported difficulty in identifying a strong candidate signals how deep the organizational vacuum has become after the election loss.