Sukhendu Roy’s ‘Anarchical Situation’ Post Deepens TMC Churn After Bengal Poll Rout

Last Updated:May 26, 2026, 17:50 IST

The unease within the TMC has coincided with a wave of resignations across municipalities in West Bengal.

Signs of growing unrest within the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) following its defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections became more visible on Tuesday, with senior Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy emerging as the latest leader to raise uncomfortable questions over the party’s direction.

Days after party MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar publicly expressed dissatisfaction, Roy posted cryptic messages on X invoking historical references and warning about the decline of democratic systems, triggering intense political chatter both within and outside the party.

“In 44 BC, Roman Emperor Julius Ceaser was stabbed to death in the Senate on the Ides of March. As per Roman calendar, Ides generally meant for 15th of March, May, July and October. But before Ides of May, people of West Bengal put an end to unbearable anarchical situation," Roy wrote on X.

The post, with its invocation of the fall of empires and the “end to unbearable anarchical situation", immediately sparked speculation in political circles and within the TMC, especially as it came amid post-poll introspection and visible fault lines in the party.

A week earlier, on May 19, Roy had written: “Democracy is based upon will of the people. Republics fall when profligates thrive and wise are banished from the council. Free thought and its practice are essential in democratic system. None can deny, else the system is doomed."

While Roy has not publicly explained the remarks, people close to him said the veteran parliamentarian has privately questioned how the party, which won 29 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in 2024, suffered such a dramatic reversal within two years.

Adding to the political buzz, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar on Tuesday attended an administrative review meeting chaired by West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kalyani along with six TMC MLAs, creating striking political optics amid speculation over churn inside the party.

Held at the APJ Abdul Kalam Auditorium in Kalyani, the meeting was attended by officials and legislators from North 24 Parganas, Nadia and Hooghly districts. Apart from the Barasat MP, TMC MLAs including Anisur Rahaman Biswas, Bina Mondal and Mohammad Abdul Matin were present.

The development drew attention because Ghosh Dastidar had only days earlier resigned as the TMC’s Barasat organisational district president after publicly expressing disappointment over her treatment within the party. Earlier, after being removed as the parliamentary party chief whip and replaced by Kalyan Banerjee, she had posted on social media: “Today I have been rewarded for four decades of loyalty."

Though Ghosh Dastidar sought to downplay the political significance of her appearance, saying “Administration belongs to everyone", her participation at a BJP government platform was seen by many observers as politically loaded in West Bengal’s sharply polarised environment.

Addressing reporters later, Adhikari said the meeting reflected a departure from past political practices.

“When we were in the opposition, we were not invited to administrative meetings. We decided lawmakers would be invited," he said, adding that opposition legislators were welcome to participate in governance-related discussions.

Interestingly, the move also found support from within the TMC. Party MLA Ritabrata Banerjee termed the participation of opposition lawmakers in such meetings a “healthy democratic practice".

The unease within the TMC has coincided with a wave of resignations across municipalities in West Bengal, exposing what political observers describe as growing instability in the party’s grassroots civic structure.

Over 100 councillors have resigned from different civic bodies across the state in recent days. The biggest blow came in Bhatpara, where 30 out of 35 councillors, including municipality chairperson Reba Raha, resigned. Similar resignations were reported from Halisahar, Kanchrapara, Garulia, North Barrackpore and Contai.

In Diamond Harbour – long seen as a political stronghold of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee – eight councillors resigned, alleging that elected representatives were denied authority in running the civic body.

Councillor Tamal Halder attacked the much-publicised “Diamond Harbour Model", saying, “For so long, a balloon was inflated in the name of the Diamond Harbour model. Now the balloon has burst."

Privately, several party leaders admitted that fear of police action and corruption investigations was spreading among municipal representatives after multiple arrests involving leaders linked to the TMC.

Among those arrested were Ranjan Poddar, a councillor in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, over alleged extortion involving transport operators, and councillor Samrat Barua in a separate extortion case. In Cooch Behar, TMC councillor Ujjal Tar was also arrested over allegations linked to intimidation during the Assembly election campaign.

Fresh signs of friction also surfaced in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, considered one of the TMC’s strongest political bastions. TMC councillor Debalina Biswas resigned as Borough No. 9 chairperson shortly after civic authorities issued notices to multiple properties linked to Abhishek Banerjee and his family.

The tensions escalated further when the monthly KMC session could not be held inside the main chamber after officials allegedly did not open the room, forcing councillors to conduct proceedings from a recreation room inside the headquarters. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim later described the incident as “a black day for the municipality."

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