ON MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2026, Rebel West Bengal MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee removed Mamata Banerjee, Former Chief Minister and (Trinamool Congress) supremo as the TMC’s chairperson. The TMC rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee announced a leadership change at a special session held in Kolkata, electing Howrah Central MLA Arup Roy as the new chairperson of the party.  

For the first time since its inception in the year 1998, a dissident camp has not merely questioned Mamata Banerjee’s leadership but has attempted to recreate the organization itself, complete with its own chairperson. According to several sources, Ritabrata Banerjee held a meeting at a hotel in New Town, Kolkata in which 60 MLAs and 70 councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation were involved.  

“Mamata Banerjee could join the new set-up as chief advisor of the party if she wished,” framing the move as part of a broader reorganization, Ritabrata Banerjee said.  She named Arup Roy, the senior MLA as the chairperson of what it called the "real" Trinamool Congress. Also, Abhishek Banerjee has been suspended from the position of the National General Secretary. 

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Ritabrata Banerjee’s Statement

Addressing the meeting, Ritabrata stated that the party was facing a ‘constitutional crisis.’ She further said that the constitution of the TMC required the formation of a national working committee every three years.

As per the rebel camp, the last national working committee was constituted on February 12, 2022, and its tenure expired on February 11, 2026. After that, no fresh committee was formed, the faction mentioned that it is important to reconstitute the organizational structure of the party. 

Ritabrata said that Arup Roy had been with the party ‘from the very beginning.’ She further added 29 other members have been also selected to the committee. 

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National Working Committee Members

The meeting led by Ritabrata Banerjee first approved a 10-member national working committee which included Arup Roy, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin,  Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee, before converting it into a 30-member committee.

Biswas and Hakim, former Ministers and MLAs, Ghosh and Yasmin were appointed as the party’s Vice-Chairpersons. Akhruzzaman Ansari was announced as a treasurer whereas Ritabrata Banerjee, Khan and Saha were named general secretaries

When was TMC established?

In January 1988, the Trinamool Congress was founded by Mamata Banerjee after resigning from the Congress party. She has led the TMC since its inception and served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal for 15 years (2011-2026) before the TMC was voted out of power in the assembly elections held in April, 2026. Suvendu Adhikari is the current CM of West Bengal.

(Edited By Vaishnavi Sivadasan)

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