Trinamool Overhaul: Party Appoints New National Joint Secretaries Amidst Internal Rebellion

Facing a wave of dissent from 58 MLAs and high-profile resignations, Mamata Banerjee has restructured the party’s hierarchy to stabilise the leadership.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership is scrambling to contain a deepening internal crisis as party chairperson Mamata Banerjee initiates a sweeping organisational overhaul. During a national working committee meeting held on June 5, 2026, the party appointed Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as national joint secretaries. These newly created roles are strategically designed to assist national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, whose central role in the party has become the primary point of contention for a growing rebel faction of legislators.

Mounting Discontent and Legislative Turmoil

The move follows a period of intense instability, marked by a rebellion involving 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs. The discord stems from a leadership dispute over the position of Leader of Opposition. While the party hierarchy initially moved to nominate ten-time MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, the rebel camp unilaterally selected the 47-year-old Ritabrata Banerjee for the role. Matters escalated when Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha alleged that their signatures on the official nomination letter were forged. Following their subsequent expulsion, an investigation into the forgery has now reached the doorstep of Abhishek Banerjee, who reportedly signed the contentious document and has since approached the Calcutta High Court seeking legal protection.

State-Level Reconstitution

Beyond the national level, the West Bengal Pradesh Trinamool Congress Committee has been completely reconstituted. Chandrima Bhattacharya has been appointed as the new State president, leading a reshuffled team that includes vice presidents Sajda Ahmed, Mamata Thakur, Nayana Bandyopadhyay, and Swati Khandekar. The new roster of State general secretaries features Babar Ali, Pulak Roy, Ashima Patra, Aroop Biswas, and Rajib Banerjee, signaling an attempt by the leadership to dilute central control and distribute authority among loyalists.

A Wider Erosion of Support

The organisational shake-up comes as the party grapples with a significant exodus of local leadership and mounting public frustration. The resignation of veteran loyalists Firhad Hakim and Krishna Chakraborty from their respective roles as mayors of the Kolkata and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporations underscores the severity of the rift. Furthermore, grassroots alienation has reached a critical threshold, with local-level functionaries facing widespread public anger, resulting in over a hundred arrests. This internal fracturing threatens the party’s cohesion, forcing Mamata Banerjee to balance the need for organisational discipline with the reality of a diminishing mandate among its own ranks.