Kolkata : Trinamool Congress suffered another blow on Wednesday as senior leader and former West Bengal minister Madan Mitra resigned from all party posts and joined the rebel camp, further weakening former chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s shrinking circle of loyalists. Mitra’s departure follows the recent exit of two other prominent Trinamool leaders — former Birbhum strongman Anubrata Mondal and veteran party leader Rabindranath Ghosh — who joined the rebel faction last week.
A founding member of the Trinamool Congress in 1998, Mitra was considered one of Mamata Banerjee’s closest associates and stood by her when she broke away from the Congress to launch the party. Known for his flamboyant style and outspoken remarks, Mitra served as transport minister in the Mamata government and remained one of the party’s most recognisable faces. Speculation about his possible exit had been circulating for days and intensified after he met Leader of the Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee earlier on Wednesday.
Mitra blamed Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, for both his resignation and the party’s current troubles. I had suggested that Abhishek Banerjee step aside for six months to a year so that we could rebuild the party. Once the organisation was strengthened, he could return. But he did not agree,” Mitra said. “The party is sinking. Yet everyone was expected to make sacrifices so that Abhishek could be protected. That is unfortunate. The party belongs to all its workers, but it now appears to revolve around one individual,” the Kamarhati MLA said.
The turmoil began when around 60 of the Trinamool’s 80 MLAs broke away under Ritabrata Banerjee’s leadership and claimed to be the “real TMC” in the Assembly. Weeks later, 20 Lok Sabha MPs quit the party and merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), extending support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). With a series of senior leaders deserting the party, the Trinamool now faces its most serious internal crisis since its formation.
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