TMC's Chandrima Bhattacharya resigns as party's Bengal chief a month after appointment

KOLKATA: In yet another setback for the Mamata Banerjee faction of the Trinamool Congress, the party's West Bengal state president Chandrima Bhattacharya stepped down from her position on Saturday, barely a month after she was entrusted with the crucial organisational responsibility in the aftermath of the party's assembly election debacle.

In a letter addressed to the Trinamool Congress chairperson, Bhattacharya also relinquished responsibilities from all other posts she held in the party, triggering speculations on whether she had severed her ties with the Mamata Banerjee-led wing of the party for all practical purposes.

Bhattacharya was named state president at the party's national working committee meeting held at Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat residence on June 3, replacing senior leader Subrata Bakshi.

She also withdrew herself as the authorised signatory of the accounts of the TMC and its associate organisations maintained in various banks and as Mamata Banerjee's authorised point person to handle the party's affairs before the Election Commission.

A former minister in the erstwhile Mamata Banerjee government – in charge of key departments like Finance and Health as Minister of State, and a prominent leader of the party who led its women's wing – Bhattacharya had remained one of the closest aides of the TMC supremo and her long-term associate.

"At the end I would like to state that I have the highest regards for you and will remain ever respectful to you," she stated in her resignation letter.

Talking to reporters, Bhattacharya later clarified that her decision was triggered by Banerjee's over-the-phone admonishment, blaming her for "allowing the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel faction of the party to take control of the party's Trinamool Bhavan operational headquarters" in Kolkata.

Bhattacharya was present at her office when the Ritabrata-led rebel faction had walked into the Trinamool Bhavan on Friday but had left the building shortly after. The rebel faction leaders held a meeting at the premises before changing the locks of the main gate and declaring they would henceforth operate from the premises.

"I was deeply hurt when she (Mamata Banerjee) called me to say that I have handed over the party office to them (the rebels), although I do not know how I did that. It is evident that my loyalty and trustworthiness were shaken from their roots. This had never happened in the past. Once those fundamental binding forces are gone, there is no reason for me to stay in the party or return to it," Bhattacharya told reporters.

Asked whether she would join the rebel camp, Bhattacharya said, "There's more to life than this. I am yet to decide the course I will chart".

Bhattacharya, however, refused to comment on the deepening factional fights within the party and which side she supported on grounds that "the matters are sub judice either before the Election Commission or before the court".

Minutes later, Bhattacharya was seen sitting in a meeting with the rebel camp leaders at the chamber of Ritabrata Banerjee, the Leader of Opposition, in the state legislative assembly. Bhattacharya was welcomed at the assembly gate by the deputy leader of opposition and a prominent member of the rebel camp, Sandipan Saha.

Bhattacharya's move came within weeks of her son, Sourav Basu – a former Kolkata Municipal Corporation councillor of the TMC – joined the rebel camp and attended its meetings. Basu was also seen present at the state assembly huddle.

"I will not not comment in detail about the development that has only just taken place. However, I will say this: Her (Bhattacharya's) self-esteem was never hurt when Mamata Banerjee entrusted her with responsibilities of key departments in the government. It has only surfaced after the party lost the polls," Kunal Ghosh, TMC MLA and Mamata-loyalist, said, taking a jibe at the dissident leader.

Bhattacharya, a three-time MLA of the state, was humbled by BJP's Sourav Sikdar at the Dum Dum Uttar constituency in the 2026 assembly elections.

Her relinquishment of party positions comes amid the Trinamool Congress's steady erosion of its top leadership since its shock defeat in the 2026 assembly elections.

Among the most prominent exits was former Kolkata Mayor and senior minister Firhad Hakim, who joined the Ritabrata Banerjee-led rebel camp.

Veteran MLA Jawed Khan and senior leader Golam Rabbani also aligned with the dissident faction, while as many as 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs joined a breakaway group seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary bloc after merging with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India and extending support to the NDA.

The rebellion has deepened into an organisational crisis, with the dissident camp staking claim to the party's headquarters, symbol and funds, prompting the Election Commission to begin proceedings on the dispute.