After Kolkata, TMC's rebellion reaches Delhi: 10-plus MPs meet BJP's Bhupender Yadav
On the day, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee attended an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi, more than 10 rebel Trinamool MPs held a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders
- Jun 8, 2026,
- Updated Jun 8, 2026 3:44 PM IST
The political crisis engulfing the Trinamool Congress has now spilled from Kolkata to Delhi.
On the day TMC chief Mamata Banerjee attended an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi, more than 10 rebel Trinamool MPs held a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders.
The meeting, hosted at Union Minister and BJP strategist Bhupender Yadav's residence, underscored the deepening turmoil within the party following its crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Among those attending were Lok Sabha MPs Shatabdi Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Prasun Banerjee and Sharmila Sarkar.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who resigned from the party earlier in the day, and MLA Akhruzzaman were also present.
For the TMC, the first shock came from Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, the party's chief whip in the Rajya Sabha for 13 years, who resigned from both the Upper House and the Trinamool Congress.
Soon after, a photograph surfaced showing Ray in discussions with several TMC MPs, fuelling speculation that the rebellion, which had already fractured the party's legislative wing, was now spreading to its parliamentary ranks.
Mamata Banerjee has already lost control of the party's legislative wing after first-time MLA Ritabrata Banerjee secured the backing of 59 TMC legislators and emerged as Leader of the Opposition.
Ritabrata later claimed that two more MLAs had joined the rebel camp, strengthening its hold and effectively overriding Mamata Banerjee's decision to appoint her close aide Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition.
Before leaving for Delhi, Banerjee reportedly rejected Ritabrata's proposal for a rapprochement that would have involved sidelining her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. She subsequently carried out a major organisational reshuffle in an attempt to stabilise the party ahead of an expected legal battle over the party's symbol and insignia.
While Abhishek Banerjee retained a key role, the TMC chief diluted his organisational dominance by appointing Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as additional general secretaries, ending his position as the party's sole national general secretary.
The political crisis engulfing the Trinamool Congress has now spilled from Kolkata to Delhi.
On the day TMC chief Mamata Banerjee attended an INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi, more than 10 rebel Trinamool MPs held a closed-door meeting with senior BJP leaders.
The meeting, hosted at Union Minister and BJP strategist Bhupender Yadav's residence, underscored the deepening turmoil within the party following its crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections.
Among those attending were Lok Sabha MPs Shatabdi Roy, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Abu Taher Khan, Khalilur Rahaman, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Kalipada Soren, Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia, Prasun Banerjee and Sharmila Sarkar.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, who resigned from the party earlier in the day, and MLA Akhruzzaman were also present.
For the TMC, the first shock came from Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, the party's chief whip in the Rajya Sabha for 13 years, who resigned from both the Upper House and the Trinamool Congress.
Soon after, a photograph surfaced showing Ray in discussions with several TMC MPs, fuelling speculation that the rebellion, which had already fractured the party's legislative wing, was now spreading to its parliamentary ranks.
Mamata Banerjee has already lost control of the party's legislative wing after first-time MLA Ritabrata Banerjee secured the backing of 59 TMC legislators and emerged as Leader of the Opposition.
Ritabrata later claimed that two more MLAs had joined the rebel camp, strengthening its hold and effectively overriding Mamata Banerjee's decision to appoint her close aide Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition.
Before leaving for Delhi, Banerjee reportedly rejected Ritabrata's proposal for a rapprochement that would have involved sidelining her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee. She subsequently carried out a major organisational reshuffle in an attempt to stabilise the party ahead of an expected legal battle over the party's symbol and insignia.
While Abhishek Banerjee retained a key role, the TMC chief diluted his organisational dominance by appointing Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen as additional general secretaries, ending his position as the party's sole national general secretary.