Mamata loyalist asks bank to freeze TMC account changes amid leadership row

Kolkata,UPDATED: Jun 18, 2026 13:13 IST

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has plunged into a severe crisis as a major internal revolt has now spilled over into a dispute over the party's finances.

In a significant development, former Sports Minister Aroop Biswas, a loyalist of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and the party's former treasurer, wrote to HDFC Bank seeking an immediate halt to debit transactions and any operational changes in the party's accounts. Biswas had resigned as sports minister last year following the Lionel Messi event controversy.

In the letter, Biswas cited a "serious dispute" over who legitimately controls the organisation.

The letter, officially received and stamped on June 16, 2026, has intensified the political turmoil within the party. With a large section of its lawmakers in open rebellion, the TMC leadership is facing one of its biggest organisational challenges in recent years.

Meanwhile, the TMC has clarified that Aroop Biswas is no longer the party's treasurer.

Subhashish Chakraborty was appointed treasurer on June 5, when Mamata Banerjee announced a sweeping organisational reshuffle after dissolving all party units as part of a restructuring exercise.

The development follows a dramatic rebellion within the TMC legislature party.

Only days ago, 58 of the party's 80 MLAs defied the leadership and backed Banerjee's claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, rejecting the party high command's choice of Chattopadhyay. Since then, the strength of the rebel camp has reportedly risen to 65 legislators, further strengthening Banerjee's position inside the Assembly.

The all-party meeting was attended by representatives of several opposition formations, including ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, Am Janata Unnayan Party MLA Humayun Kabir and CPI(M) MLA Mustafizur Rahaman. The developments in the Assembly come amid wider turbulence within the TMC's parliamentary ranks as well.

In Parliament, the party recently suffered a major setback after 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs reportedly broke away from the TMC Parliamentary Party and decided to merge with the National Citizens Party of India while extending support to the BJP-led NDA. The twin rebellions in the Assembly and Parliament have weakened the party leadership's grip over its elected representatives and raised questions over the future shape of the opposition space in both Kolkata and New Delhi.

- Ends