Speaking on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Mamata Banerjee publicly expressed her anger against the dissidents for the first time. According to news agency PTI, she said, "All the thieves have left me and joined the BJP. They won elections on the TMC election symbol and then stabbed me in the back. Even if they ever return, I will never take them back into the party."
The TMC chief further alleged that the rebels were attempting to seize the party's twin-flower election symbol with the support of the BJP. She asserted that such an attempt would fail, saying, "The rebels are trying to take away the Trinamool Congress party's twin-flower symbol with the help of the BJP, but they cannot take it away. I am the founder-president."
Addressing the Martyrs' Day rally in Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee also delivered a direct message to dissatisfied leaders within the party. She urged them to stop functioning as allies of the BJP or officially join the party instead. "If you want to support the BJP, then join the BJP. My student and youth workers are ready to fill every position. I challenge the traitors to directly join the BJP and contest elections," she said.
During her address, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal also referred to the ongoing Cockroach Janata Party protest in Delhi. She said, "You saw what happened in Delhi yesterday and the atrocities committed against students. I heard in Parliament that the Prime Minister turned his car around and left." She added that her party stands with the students.
Mamata Banerjee once again called for opposition unity, urging all parties in the INDIA alliance to set aside their differences and unite against the BJP. She said, "I appeal to everyone to come together to fight the BJP. I have no ego. If anyone else has one, it should also be given up. We must unite to take on the BJP."
The political turmoil within the Trinamool Congress has intensified since the party's defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election. On June 14, TMC leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and 20 Lok Sabha Members of Parliament joined the Nationalist Citizen Party, which is backed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Four Rajya Sabha Members who had already resigned from the TMC also joined the BJP, and three of them have since been elected to the Rajya Sabha.
The crisis has further deepened within the state legislature, where 58 of the TMC's 80 Members of the Legislative Assembly have formed a separate faction. The group has recognised Ritubrata Banerjee as its leader, marking a significant internal split that has intensified the challenges facing Mamata Banerjee and the Trinamool Congress after its electoral setback.
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