Former West Bengal minister quits TMC amid rift

Former West Bengal minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia has resigned from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the latest sign of an intensifying rift within the party. Bhunia, a former minister, confirmed that he sent his resignation letter to TMC supremo and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, asking her to accept his departure from the party’s primary membership. Speaking to the media, he stated, “I sent my resignation letter to Mamata Banerjee and requested her to kindly accept my resignation from the primary membership of the party.”

The exit comes as the TMC faces growing internal strain after a poor showing in the latest West Bengal Assembly elections. The party’s underwhelming performance in the recently concluded elections has reportedly led to a widening rift between party veterans and the central leadership headed by Mamata Banerjee.

In a separate but related development, TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar confirmed that a group of 20 MPs has formally requested separate seating arrangements in the Lok Sabha. The list includes Bapi Haldar, Dr. Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Bandyopadhyay, Jagadish Barma Basunia, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Rachna Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Mitali Bag, Mala Roy, Kalipada Soren, Deepak Adhikari, June Malia, and Partha Bhowmick. This move comes amid fluctuating exits from the party and signals a possible organizational split within the TMC’s parliamentary ranks, though it stops short of a formal break. The demand for separate seating indicates that the lawmakers wish to be physically distinguished from the main TMC bloc, a step often seen as a precursor to a more formal split.

The resignations and the push for separate seating in the Lok Sabha suggest the TMC’s internal tensions are not limited to state-level politics but have spread to its national parliamentary wing. Bhunia, who served as a minister in the West Bengal government under Banerjee, did not specify his reasons for leaving beyond the written request to Banerjee. His departure from the party’s primary membership means he is no longer a card-carrying member of the TMC, though he does not currently hold any parliamentary seat.

It remains unclear whether more lawmakers plan to follow. The TMC leadership has not issued a formal response to Bhunia’s resignation or the MPs’ seating request. No official statement has been made by the party’s high command regarding either development, leaving observers to speculate about the next steps in the ongoing rift.