A scheduled meeting of newly elected Trinamool Congress legislators was called off on Sunday (May 31, 2026) after nearly three-fourths of the party’s MLAs failed to turn up for the gathering.
The meeting was convened by Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Sobhandeb Chatterjee, and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was likely to address the legislators. The Trinamool Congress has 80 MLAs in the newly elected Assembly, but only 20 came to attend the meeting at Ms. Banerjee’s residence.
Trinamool spokesperson and Beleghata MLA Kunal Ghosh attributed the low turnout to the attack on party general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur on Saturday (May 30, 2026). “After the attack on Abhishek Banerjee in Sonarpur, MLAs are busy with various programmes. Apart from this, Trinamool leaders and activists are being attacked in various areas and arrested in false cases. Several MLAs have been receiving calls since yesterday (Saturday) evening that in such a situation, it would be very good if the date of the meeting is changed,” he said.
Those present at Ms. Banerjee’s residence included former Speaker Biman Banerjee, Kamarhati MLA Madan Mitra, Palashipara legislator Rukbanur Rahman, Buzbuz MLA Ashok Deb, Panchla MLA Gulshan Mallick, Maltipur MLA Abdul Rahim Bakshi and Kumarganj legislator Toraf Hossain Mandal.
After the Trinamool’s defeat in the Assembly elections, the biggest challenge for the party has been to keep its flock together. Several MLAs have started blaming the party leadership for the loss and are reportedly warming up to the BJP. The BJP leadership, however, has so far ruled out the possibility of inducting defectors.
With public anger against the Trinamool Congress rank and file becoming evident and people attacking local-level party leaders, several MLAs are also trying to distance themselves from the party.
Even after the attack on Abhishek Banerjee, not many legislators have reached out to the party leadership. Ms. Banerjee is likely to hit the streets to protest over the attacks on Trinamool Congress supporters, and it will be interesting to see how many of her party legislators participate in those demonstrations.
Published - May 31, 2026 07:56 pm IST
Kolkata / Bengal / All India Trinamool Congress
Source: The Hindu - India News
