A Rebellion in Name Only: The Farce at Novotel that Left Trinamool Unfazed

A closed-door meeting in New Town attempts to unseat Mamata Banerjee, triggering a sharp rebuke from party leadership.

The political landscape in Bengal witnessed a bizarre spectacle this Monday at the Novotel in New Town. In a move that reads more like political theatre than a credible coup, a faction operating under the banner of "Ritabrata-Trinamool" convened an AITC special session. Behind closed doors, they took the audacious, if not entirely surreal, decision to remove Mamata Banerjee from the party she founded and install Arup Roy as the new president.

For a party that has navigated decades of electoral highs and lows, this incident stands out as a unique moment of absurdity. The news of this "session" broke late in the day on June 22, 2026, quickly drawing a blistering response from Belighata MLA Kunal Ghosh. For Ghosh, who has been a vocal defender of the party’s rank and file, the move wasn't just illegal—it was laughable.

The Kunal Ghosh Counter-Punch

Kunal Ghosh did not hold back when facing the media. He dismissed the entire exercise as a desperate grab for relevance by political opportunists. "The man who was expelled from the party years ago is now trying to expel our leader? It’s a joke," Ghosh remarked, targeting Ritabrata Banerjee’s involvement. He labeled the group a collection of "chameleon" politicians who, having sensed a shift in the political winds, have abandoned their loyalty to chase their own agendas.

Ghosh’s critique cut deeper than just the personal level. He accused the attendees of acting as "backstabbers" who, instead of standing by grassroots workers currently facing turmoil, are busy executing the agendas of external forces. He maintained that this "Ritabrata-Trinamool" faction holds no legal standing, calling their attempt to seize the party structure a "fraudulent exercise" that ignores the fundamental relationship between Mamata Banerjee and the public.

Why it Matters: The Bigger Picture

This incident reflects a recurring pattern in Indian state politics: when a dominant party faces electoral uncertainty, splinter groups often emerge, hoping to capitalize on perceived weaknesses. By attempting to "remove" a leader who is synonymous with the party's identity, this faction has signaled its intent to create confusion among the electorate. However, by choosing to operate through a "special session" that lacks any constitutional backing within the party, they have effectively marginalized themselves rather than threatening the status quo.

The bigger picture here is not a change in leadership, but the intensification of internal friction. Mamata Banerjee has spent years building the AITC, and her authority remains tied to the party's grassroots structure. Attempts to dismantle this from the outside—or from within by those already pushed to the periphery—rarely succeed. Instead, such acts often serve to rally the party base, giving leaders like Kunal Ghosh a platform to reassert loyalty and expose the "gaddari" (treachery) of those looking to switch sides.

For the moment, the party hierarchy views this as little more than a sideshow. Whether this is an isolated incident of post-election opportunism or the start of a more organized campaign by breakaway factions remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that for now, the "Ritabrata-Trinamool" session has achieved nothing more than making headlines for all the wrong reasons.