Blame game erupts in Trinamul Congress after electoral rout
The Statesman | 8 May 2026
A blame game has erupted within the Trinamul Congress following its electoral debacle in North Bengal, with several senior leaders openly questioning the party’s internal functioning and leadership decisions.
While the party’s national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, attributed the ‘performance’ to the Election Commission of India’s counting process, a section of leaders from the region has squarely held him responsible for the setback.
Senior leader from Malda, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, launched a sharp attack, stating that the party ~ built “brick by brick” by Mamata Banerjee ~ had been brought to the brink by “one individual.” He further criticised what he described as a “corporate-style management” of the party, which, according to him, culminated in the 2026 electoral rout.
Echoing similar concerns, former four-time MLA from Rajganj, Khageswar Roy, blamed the party’s reliance on I-PAC for strategic decisions. He alleged that outsourcing organisational control to the consultancy had proved detrimental. Notably, I-PAC’s post-poll assessment had projected over 200 seats for the Trinamul Congress, a forecast that contrasted sharply with the final outcome, where the BJP crossed the 200-seat mark.
Dissent has also surfaced in Cooch Behar, where veteran leader Rabindranath Ghosh recently expressed dissatisfaction over candidate selection and the party’s current functioning. Ghosh, who had earlier stepped down as chairman of the Cooch Behar Municipality at the behest of the central leadership, has now resigned as councillor as well. Following his remarks, his daughter ~ also a party leader ~ voiced similar grievances in Siliguri.
In a significant allegation, she claimed that a “syndicate raj” had taken root within the party’s structure, purportedly managed by I-PAC functionaries. She further alleged that grassroots-level reports often failed to reach the top leadership unless accompanied by favours or inducements.
Former Siliguri district president of the Trinamul Congress, Papia Ghosh, described the party environment as increasingly stifling since 2021. “We were reduced to the role of employees in a company,” she said, underlining a growing sense of alienation among grassroots workers.
Meanwhile, Siliguri Municipal Corporation Mayor Gautam Deb has written to the party leadership, expressing his willingness to resign in the wake of the defeat. “I have conveyed my intention to step down. I will abide by whatever decision the party takes,” he told reporters.
In a pointed remark, Papia Ghosh held Deb responsible for the party’s decline in Siliguri, urging him to relinquish his position. Electoral data from the Siliguri Assembly segment further underscores the scale of the setback, with the mayor reportedly failing to secure a lead in any of the 245 polling stations, including those within his own ward.
The discontent is not confined to Siliguri alone. Former Alipurduar MLA Sourav Chakraborty has also criticised the party’s organisational approach, while former Dinhata MLA and ex-North Bengal development minister Udayan Guha is learnt to have left the town quietly after returning home under Central forces’ protection following the counting process.
As voices of dissent grow louder, the Trinamul Congress now faces the twin challenge of addressing internal discord while reassessing its organisational and electoral strategies in the region.