KOLKATA, JUL 15 (PTI): Senior TMC MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday crossed over to the rebel camp led by Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, further depleting former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s faction, even as the veteran legislator asserted that he had not left the party.
One of Mamata Banerjee’s longest-serving political associates and among the TMC’s founding-era leaders, Mitra announced that he was resigning from all national and state organisational committees functioning under the “Mamata Banerjee-TMC” camp, besides stepping down as the party’s chief whip in the Assembly.
“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 while continuing as a TMC MLA.
“I am resigning from all national and state committees of the Mamata Banerjee TMC. I am also stepping down as chief whip. I was in the Trinamool and I remain in the Trinamool,” he said.
In 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.”
Mitra said he had informed Mamata Banerjee about his decision before switching camps.
“I sent her a WhatsApp message saying ‘Sorry’. She stood by us for years, and we also tried to contribute in our own way. I thank her for everything she has done. But she must decide whether she wants to pursue people’s politics or dynasty politics centred on her nephew,” Mitra said, referring to Abhishek Banerjee.
The Kamarhati MLA also announced that he would participate in the July 21 Martyrs’ Day programme being organised by the Ritabrata Banerjee camp.
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 the party’s future.
The political buzz around Mitra had gathered pace on Tuesday night after he visited rebel MLA Sandipan Saha’s residence. Although Saha was away, Mitra spent considerable time with his father, former MLA Swarnakamal Saha, once regarded as one of Mamata Banerjee’s trusted lieutenants.
After returning home, Sandipan Saha spoke to Mitra over the phone, with the veteran MLA expressing his desire to meet him. Their 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.
Rejecting suggestions that the ED action had prompted his crossover, Mitra attacked Abhishek Banerjee, whom he blamed for the TMC’s decline.
“AB is more frightening than the ED. The main reason behind my decision is Abhishek. I was suffocating at the party. The Trinamool belongs to its workers, not to any individual. It cannot be run in a dictatorial manner like Hitler. Leaders must go to the people,” he said.
Without naming Abhishek initially, Mitra said history would record that “one individual” had destroyed a party that had once won 213 Assembly seats.
Throwing a challenge to his critics, he said, “Prove that Madan Mitra took money from anyone to secure a government job. I spent 27 months in jail (in the Saradha chit fund case), but never spoke against the party.”
Responding to the development, TMC MLA Kunal Ghosh alleged that attempts were being made to force leaders into changing camps by targeting their families through central agencies.
“Even if Madan da physically goes there, his heart will remain with Mamata di,” Ghosh said.
Industries Minister and BJP leader Tapas Roy said the developments reflected the continuing churn within TMC.
For weeks, Mitra had maintained that he would not leave the party despite publicly expressing differences with sections of its leadership.
His 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 most recognisable faces through the party’s highs and lows.
He served as cabinet minister for transport, inland water transport and sports before resigning after his arrest in the Saradha case in 2014.
He contested the 2016 Assembly election from jail before returning to the Assembly from Kamarhati in 2021.
Known for his trademark “Oh Lovely” refrain, impromptu songs and flamboyant public persona as much as for his political resilience, Mitra has long been one of Bengal’s most recognisable politicians.
His relationship with the party leadership had, however, shown signs of strain over the past year. In February 2025, he accused I-PAC of fostering corruption within the organisation by allegedly commercialising party positions before withdrawing his remarks.
Mitra’s latest remarks also reinforce the central argument advanced by the Ritabrata Banerjee camp that the rebellion is directed primarily against Abhishek Banerjee’s growing influence over the organisation rather than against Mamata Banerjee personally.
The rebellion has gathered momentum around opposition to Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership, with the dissident faction accusing the former leadership of abandoning the party’s original political character after successive electoral setbacks.
Last month, the rebels elected senior MLA Arup Roy as the party’s chairperson and unveiled a parallel organisational structure, replacing Mamata Banerjee as the head of their faction.
