Mamata Banerjee’s TMC in Crisis: Party Splits and Rebel Factions

Mon Jun 15 2026 09:02:53 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Indian political powerhouse Mamata Banerjee’s TMC now faces a profound split, as legislators rebel against her leadership following a BJP victory.

India’s once‑dominant West Bengal party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), is unraveling after a narrow defeat to the BJP. Leaders inside the party have staged a revolt, claiming forged signatures and striking at Mamata Banerjee’s authority. Political analysts say the party’s survival hinged on Banerjee’s personal charisma and state power, both now eroded, while the BJP’s growing national role offers an attractive alternative. The rebellion threatens to split the TMC into factions and could see dozens of MPs leaving for the ruling coalition, raising questions about the party’s future. Banerjee remains defiant, promising a rebuild, but experts warn that cohesion will require far more than charisma alone.

Political parties usually survive defeat. What they often struggle to survive is the sudden loss of power. That is the predicament facing the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party in West Bengal, a state of more than 100 million people in eastern India.

Barely a month after being voted out of office, the party is confronting a rebellion by most of its legislators, a potential split among its MPs and growing doubts about the authority of its founder, Mamata Banerjee. Banerjee, formerly a firebrand in 2011, ended 34 years of Communist rule and turned the TMC into India’s most successful regional party, embroidering her personal brand into the state’s political fabric.

Last month, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept West Bengal, ending the TMC’s 15‑year rule amid anti-incumbency, religious polarisation and controversies over electoral rolls. However, the TMC still secured 26 million votes, just three million fewer than the BJP, and retained about 40% of the popular vote, keeping 80 legislators in the state assembly and 28 members of parliament.

Inside the legislature, roughly three‑quarters of the TMC’s legislators revolted against Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, widely seen as her heir. The rebels seized control of the party’s legislative wing, installed their own opposition leader and accused the leadership of forging signatures on legislative documents.

This rebellion has spread to Delhi. Ninety‑five per cent of the TMC’s 28 MPs have written to the speaker of parliament, seeking to break away from the party’s parliamentary group and align themselves with the BJP‑led ruling alliance. If confirmed, it would elevate the crisis from a legislative mutiny to an existential challenge to the party’s unity.

The rapid unraveling points to a deeper weakness: unlike the Communist movement it overthrew in 2011, the TMC never built a robust ideological structure capable of surviving the loss of power. Its unifying force was a combination of Banerjee’s charismatic personal appeal and the patronage that comes with state power.

Experts suggest that the BJP’s national dominance changes the incentives for regional politicians. Previously, defections involved individual leaders breaking away; now entire factions can rebel because the BJP provides an alternative centre of power, resources and political protection.

Alliances decided by family succession and patronage‑driven structures mean that once a party loses office, local leaders who joined for power and influence often have no incentive to stay. This is why current TMC legislators are defecting, a pattern also seen in parties like the Shiv Sena.

For now, 71‑year‑old Banerjee remains defiant and has labelled the BJP’s victory as "illegal" and "immoral", alleging that around 100 seats were "looted". She dismisses the rebellion as opportunistic, reminding that factions who enjoyed power will immediately find an ally when the party loses stability.

Yet she insists that the TMC can recover: "We will rebuild the party anew. TMC is not for its leaders; it is for its workers." Whether this will hold depends on the party’s ability to renew its organisational structure and make difficult leadership decisions that move beyond her charismatic brand.

The crisis raises the question: can the TMC emerge from what increasingly looks like an existential threat? Experts say it is too early to tell. The rebellion could fizzle out, but if the MPs that signal support for a split hold their nerve, the challenge could be more consequential than early sceptics assume.

But writing off Banerjee would be premature. She still commands attention and is a voice that cannot be simply dismissed – yet any revival will require more than charisma, demanding a willingness to reform leadership structures and confront internal dissent.