In the wake of a seismic verdict in the West Bengal assembly elections, the Trinamool Congress's internal fault lines have cracked open. At the centre of the rupture is a dissident bloc of more than 60 MLAs, who defied the party whip and installed their own leader of opposition. The man in the post, Ritabrata Banerjee, talks candidly in this interview about the party’s implosion, the stranglehold general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, MP, had over the party, and what the new bloc intends to do.
Edited excerpts:
Q/ You were a backbencher MP, and now you are leading the opposition in the assembly. What are your plans for your faction of the Trinamool Congress?
This is a collective fight against five years of one man—a fallen crown prince and despot—hijacking a grassroots party. Abhishek Banerjee, along with I-PAC, built a corporate bureaucracy and dismantled everything Trinamool had organically built. As an MP, my reporting boss was not Mamata Banerjee, not even Abhishek Banerjee—it was I-PAC. From 2023 until my Rajya Sabha term ended in April 2026, he never once gave me an appointment with him. Five-time and seven-time MLAs were going to Camac Street and waiting for five and a half hours, only to be told the boss could not meet them today. The day Trinamool Congress legislators met in Kalighat, on May 6, we had just lost 100 seats. The first thing that happened was that everyone was asked to give a standing ovation to Abhishek Banerjee. People coming straight from the battleground were
told we had not lost the election. That is denial. One MLA, Arunava Sen from Bagnan, did not stand up. I did—but I was hesitant. Fear is contagious. So is courage. On May 19, people were asked to sign a letter dated May 6. That is forgery. I asked why [Abhishek’s
recently arrested aide] Jahangir Khan had not been expelled. The answer I got was: see the tweet [I-PAC manages the handle]. You call a meeting, and your answer is to see the tweet. In defeat, one must be humble. You have become more arrogant. You are forging signatures.
Q/ How many MLAs were there on May 6?
There were 70 signatures. There were hardly 50 MLAs.
Q/ Did you not consider approaching Mamata Banerjee or Abhishek about this?
No. When you raise questions, the answer is: see the tweet. After I spoke to the media, I was called. After three and a half years, I finally got an appointment—because I had already spoken to the media. They asked me to put what I said in writing. In Abhishek Banerjee’s sanghatan, there is the san—the clown—but no gathan, no togetherness. We wrote to the speaker because we feared for our membership. Twenty Lok Sabha MPs have already written to the speaker in Delhi, dissociating themselves. Their line of action and ours are different.
Q/ How is it different?
I heard they are making a bloc supporting the NDA. We have made our position clear. We will not oppose for opposition’s sake. Where the government is wrong, we will fight it tooth and nail. Where it does something right, we will say so. On the [ongoing] hawker evictions, our stand is clear. You cannot take away livelihoods without providing an alternative. We will never stage a walkout. The quiz master (Derek O’Brien) always orchestrated walkouts. Walkouts help the BJP—they reduce the absolute numbers. If there is a presidential or vice-presidential election, we will vote. We will not abstain. Abstaining means helping the BJP.
Q/ The Mamata camp says this faction is BJP-orchestrated.
Our deputy leader, Sandipan Saha’s house was attacked by the losing BJP candidate. A BJP crowd gathered outside Arunava Sen’s house. If we had negotiated with the BJP, the first thing we would have done is ensure the safety of our own MLAs.
Q/ Is Mamata Banerjee still your leader?
Our legislative party has said we want Mamata Banerjee to guide us.
Q/ You want her as your leader?
As chief adviser.
Q/ You called Abhishek the “fallen crown prince”.
He is the greatest liability of the Trinamool Congress. He went into hiding for 26 days while workers were being beaten on the ground. When he finally came out, he was heckled in hospital OPDs. He has not travelled on a commercial flight in years— he goes to Bagdogra on a chartered flight. Whose money is that? He has business class coupons as an MP that he does not use. Accept defeat with humility. The arrogance is still there. That is not helping this party.
Q/ Where do your numbers stand, and what about the legal challenge to your LoP status?
We are at 63 in the assembly. Twenty Lok Sabha MPs have already written to the speaker. Rajya Sabha resignations have begun, and more are coming. As for
the High Court challenge, everyone has the right to go to court. But let there be a floor test. Numbers are with us.
Q/ You won as Trinamool MLAs. Will people accept you now that there is another camp?
In the coming months, as the crackdown on corruption deepens, people will see how many former ministers end up in jail. I am confident the government will [catch] the fallen crown prince—provided it does not succumb to pressure. Within the rank and file of Trinamool, anger over a grassroots party being hijacked by one man and his corporate agency has been accumulating for five years. Many MLAs have told me: This is a liberation from slavery. You cannot stop this mood. As Victor Hugo said, you cannot stop an idea whose time has come.
