Amid a mounting crisis within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), party chief Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee are expected to attend a meeting of the INDIA bloc in Delhi on June 8.
The meeting comes in the wake of the recently concluded Assembly elections in four states and one Union territory held in April–May. The TMC suffered a shocking defeat in West Bengal, where it had ruled for a decade and a half, as the BJP formed its first government in the state.
Other expected attendees include Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. However, the DMK, a key constituent of the bloc, is unlikely to participate after the Congress severed ties with the party and aligned with the TVK.
Since the election results, Banerjee has been advocating for a broader anti-BJP alliance at the state level, though her calls have not been embraced by either the Congress or the CPI(M). On Tuesday, during a protest in Kolkata against the alleged attack on TMC workers, Banerjee called for a nationwide campaign against the BJP.
“Very soon, all anti-BJP parties will meet in Delhi. Wait for a few days and we will announce our country-wide course of action,” she said.
Her likely attendance at the opposition meet is significant, as the TMC grapples with an existential crisis following the electoral debacle. Infighting and factionalism have become public, resulting in the expulsion of two leaders—Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha—from the party.
The crisis deepened this week when Ritabrata claimed the position of Leader of the Opposition, asserting the support of 59 MLAs, even as the party officially endorsed Sobhondeb Chattopadhyay, a close aide of Mamata Banerjee, for the post.
The TMC currently holds 80 MLAs in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly.
