KOLKATA – Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has overhauled the party’s organizational hierarchy and diluted the authority of National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee following reports of a potential split within the party’s 28-member Lok Sabha contingent.
The restructuring follows a surge of speculation that several parliamentary party members are converging on New Delhi, sparking concerns of a repeat of the rebellion that previously fractured the party’s legislative wing in the state assembly.
To trigger a legally recognized split and avoid disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution-the anti-defection law-at least 19 of the 28 MPs would need to break away. The provision, set out in the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India, requires a minimum of two-thirds of a legislature party to defect together for the group to be treated as a separate formation rather than as individual defectors.
Leadership Restructuring and Power Dilution
During a National Working Committee (NWC) meeting at her Kalighat residence, Mamata Banerjee appointed Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien and RS MP Dola Sen as joint national secretaries, inserting additional senior voices between the party chief and the parliamentary ranks.
This appointment serves as a direct dilution of the authority previously held by Abhishek Banerjee, who had emerged as the central organizational pivot and key interlocutor with many of the party’s Lok Sabha MPs.
Internal party sources indicate the move is a strategic attempt to stabilize the parliamentary wing and reassert Mamata Banerjee’s primacy over factional alignments. The rebellion is reportedly driven by dissatisfaction with the Diamond Harbour MP’s clout and style of functioning, with some colleagues arguing that decision-making has become overly centralized.
Disgruntled members have alleged that Abhishek Banerjee operates within a “syndicate-driven silo” and rarely interacts with grassroots party workers, an accusation that cuts to the core of the Trinamool’s claim of being a cadre-backed, mass-based regional force.
Movement of Parliamentary Members
The internal crisis has been highlighted by the movement of several MPs to the national capital at a politically sensitive moment for the opposition bloc in Parliament.
- Jagadish Chandra Basunia (Cooch Behar): Currently in Delhi, officially to attend to an ailing relative, amid speculation over parallel political outreach.
- Actor-MPs: Two members of the contingent are expected to reach Delhi next week, further fuelling talk of back-channel conversations involving disgruntled lawmakers.
- Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (Barasat): Denied allegations of engineering a split, stating, “I contest allegations that I am trying to create a rift within the parliamentary party and trying to influence other MPs. I am in Kolkata and have not been to Delhi.”
Four Lok Sabha MPs-Abhishek Banerjee, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Kalyan Banerjee, and Mala Roy-attended the NWC meeting to signal stability and to project an image of institutional control over the parliamentary party.
While Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra and Dum Dum MP Saugata Roy were absent from the meeting, both have publicly reaffirmed their support for Mamata Banerjee, as has Bardhaman-Durgapur MP Kirti Azad. Their statements are being interpreted within the party as an attempt to ring‑fence the core Trinamool vote in West Bengal at a time when opposition unity in the Lok Sabha remains numerically fragile.
Allegations of External Influence
The party leadership has framed the internal friction as a vulnerability that could be exploited by political opponents, warning that any instability in the Trinamool contingent could alter equation-building within the wider opposition benches.
Saugata Roy attributed the instability to the tactics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), specifically referencing “Operation Lotus,” the term used by several opposition parties to describe alleged efforts to poach lawmakers through inducements and pressure tactics.
“Operation Lotus is BJP’s politics. They try to break parties using money power and threats. They have done it in Maharashtra and Bihar. We have to face it. Initially, it will be very disheartening, but if one can hold out, then we can absorb the immediate impact,” Saugata said.
Murshidabad MP Abu Taher Khan further emphasized party discipline, stating, “Irrespective of who is in control, I will toe the party line and do what the party asks me to do.” His remarks underline the leadership’s attempt to publicly close ranks and reassure allies in the opposition INDIA bloc that the Trinamool numbers will hold.
Legislative Precedents and Current Stance
The current tensions echo a previous split in the party’s legislative wing, led by Ritabrata Banerjee. The first-time MLA was expelled and subsequently named leader of the opposition in the assembly, after a major group of legislators broke away and was recognised as the principal opposition in the West Bengal Assembly. That rupture forced the Trinamool leadership to rewrite its internal chain of command and remains a cautionary precedent for the party’s parliamentary managers.
When questioned about the current parliamentary unrest, Ritabrata Banerjee stated he had not spoken to any MP in the last seven days.
“Nobody can say what will happen tomorrow. Have patience,” he told ANI.
The memory of that earlier schism hangs over the present moment, especially as Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to travel to Delhi on June 8, accompanied by Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, to attend the INDIA bloc meeting. The visit is expected to serve a dual purpose: participation in opposition strategy discussions in Parliament and a visible demonstration that, for now, the party’s top tier remains intact. To observers tracking opposition arithmetic in the Lok Sabha, the stability of Trinamool’s 28 seats is a key variable in any prospective anti-BJP floor coordination, a point underscored by the earlier disarray that followed the recognition of rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly.
