Facing growing unrest inside the Trinamool Congress, party leader and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is working to restore her position as an opposition figure both in the state and nationally. She plans to join an INDIA alliance meeting set for Monday in Delhi. Her nephew Abhishek Banerjee arrived in the capital on Saturday, while she is due on Sunday and will stay until Tuesday. Insiders say both will attend the session with several senior MPs. On Friday she carried out a wide party reshuffle, keeping Abhishek as national general secretary despite criticism over recent election losses and naming Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen as joint national secretaries to share decision-making. A senior MP noted the move was meant to address rank-and-file anger toward Abhishek and to rebuild credibility. The Congress is watching the situation closely. Sources indicate Mamata hopes to meet Sonia Gandhi, though no confirmation has come from the Gandhi family. A Bengal Congress leader said the party would not abandon her but would not act as a close ally either. Rebel MLAs remain divided over Mamata’s future role. Ritabrata Banerjee, chosen as Leader of the Opposition by around sixty legislators, suggested she could serve as chief adviser, yet some in the group rejected the idea and insisted she must remain supreme leader. Mamata is also reaching out to Muslim MLAs uneasy about Ritabrata’s reported ties to the BJP. Of the eighty TMC MLAs elected in 2026, thirty-one are Muslim and the revolt has split that group. Several prominent Muslim legislators joined the rebels, while others stayed loyal. Speculation is growing that some Lok Sabha MPs may soon approach the Speaker to remove Abhishek as parliamentary party leader while Mamata is in Delhi.
