TMC MLA Madan Mitra joins Ritabrata-led rebel camp, quits Mamata faction's organisational posts

Kolkata, Jul 15 (PTI) Senior TMC MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday crossed over to the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, dealing another political blow to former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's faction, even as the legislator asserted that he had not left the party. The veteran TMC legislator, one of Mamata Banerjee's longest-serving political associates, announced that he was resigning from all national and state organisational committees functioning under the "Kalighat TMC camp," besides stepping down as the party's chief whip in the West Bengal Assembly with immediate effect. "I have only changed my room, not my house. I am very much in the TMC," Mitra told reporters after meeting Ritabrata Banerjee in his chamber in the assembly. Dressed in a white kurta and sporting his trademark dark sunglasses, Mitra sat beside the rebel leader before declaring that he would relinquish every organisational responsibility under the Mamata Banerjee-led faction but continue as a Trinamool Congress MLA. "I am resigning from all national and state committees of the Kalighat TMC. I am also stepping down as chief whip. I was in the Trinamool, and I remain in the Trinamool," he said. Employing one of his trademark metaphors, Mitra added, "Perhaps that room had a comfortable bed while this one has only a cot. I have chosen the cot." The Kamarhati MLA also announced that he would participate in the July 21 Martyrs' Day programme being organised by the Ritabrata Banerjee camp, signalling his complete political alignment with the rebel faction. The development marks one of the biggest defections to the rebel camp since the TMC split erupted after the party's defeat in the 2026 assembly elections, and further weakens the Mamata Banerjee faction ahead of an increasingly bitter battle over its future. The political buzz around Mitra had gathered pace on Tuesday night after he visited the Entally residence of rebel MLA Sandipan Saha. Although Saha was away, Mitra spent considerable time with his father, former MLA Swarnakamal Saha, once regarded as a trusted Mamata Banerjee lieutenant. After returning home, Sandipan Saha spoke to Mitra over the phone, with the veteran MLA expressing his desire to meet him. Their proposed meeting on Wednesday further fuelled speculation that Mitra was preparing to switch camps. The speculation gained additional traction after the Enforcement Directorate summoned Mitra's wife and two sons in connection with the alleged municipal recruitment scam. While neither Mitra nor the Ritabrata Banerjee camp linked the central agency's action to Wednesday's political developments, the summons added another dimension to the intense speculation surrounding his move. For weeks, Mitra had maintained that he would not leave the party despite publicly expressing discomfort with sections of its leadership. His latest decision, however, marks a decisive break with the organisational structure headed by Mamata Banerjee. Mitra's crossover carries symbolic significance beyond legislative arithmetic. Among the earliest leaders to rally behind Mamata Banerjee after she founded the TMC in 1998, Mitra has remained one of the party's most recognisable mass faces through political highs and lows. He rose through the Congress student movement in the 1970s before becoming one of Mamata Banerjee's closest associates during the Trinamool's formative years. During the party's years in power, he served as a cabinet minister handling transport, inland water transport and sports before resigning after his arrest in the Saradha chit fund case in 2014. Even while incarcerated, he remained a popular campaigner, losing the 2016 assembly election which he contested from jail, before returning to the assembly from Kamarhati in 2021. Known as much for his trademark "Oh Lovely" refrain, impromptu songs and flamboyant public appearances as for his political survival skills, Mitra has long cultivated the image of one of Bengal's most unconventional politicians. His relationship with the party leadership had, however, shown signs of strain over the past year. In February 2025, he publicly accused election strategist I-PAC of fostering corruption within the organisation by allegedly commercialising party positions before apologising to the leadership and withdrawing his remarks. Political observers believe Wednesday's move effectively ends months of speculation over whether one of Mamata Banerjee's oldest political associates would eventually abandon her organisational camp. The rebellion itself has steadily gathered momentum around opposition to the growing influence of Abhishek Banerjee, with the dissident faction accusing the former leadership of abandoning the party's original political character. Last month, the rebels convened a special organisational session, elected senior MLA Arup Roy as the party's chairperson and unveiled a parallel organisational structure, removing Mamata Banerjee from the post. The confrontation escalated after 58 of the TMC's 80 MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the nominee supported by the Mamata Banerjee camp. Rebel leaders now claim the support of around 65 legislators. The party split also reached Parliament, where 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs have broken away, merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and extended support to the BJP-led NDA, while several senior state leaders have deserted the Mamata Banerjee camp. For the first time since the TMC's inception in 1998, rival factions are preparing to observe the party's politically significant July 21 Martyrs' Day separately, underscoring how the battle has moved beyond personalities to a contest over the party's organisation, political legacy and future leadership. Against that backdrop, Mitra's arrival gives the Ritabrata Banerjee camp not merely another legislator but one of the TMC's most enduring political faces - a leader whose journey has mirrored the party's own rise, turbulence and now, its deepest internal schism. PTI BSM PNT BDC PNT BDC