Mamata called a meeting of her own MLAs after poll defeat; 60 out of 80 didn’t bother to show up
The Statesman | 2 June 2026
A scheduled meeting of newly-elected Trinamool Congress legislators, which was supposed to be chaired by party supremo Mamata Banerjee, was called off on Sunday after nearly three-fourths of the 80 MLAs failed to turn up. The meeting was called by TMC’s legislative party leader Shovandeb Chattopadhyay and was scheduled to be held at Mamata Banerjee’s residence in Kolkata’s Kalighat. Only 20 of the Trinamool MLAs came to attend. The meeting was scheduled to start at 3 pm.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh attributed the absence of MLAs to the “sudden and emergent ground situation” in the wake of Saturday’s attack on TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and the subsequent alleged assault on party MP Kalyan Banerjee on Sunday.
Ghosh said: “The meeting was pre-scheduled. However, in the aftermath of the attacks on our leaders, our MLAs are organising protest programmes at the ground level, following which severe police action has been unleashed on our workers. The absentee MLAs, who are stuck with managing the ground situation, assisting our workers who have been arrested, had informed the legislative party of the developments and requested if the meeting could be temporarily postponed.”
Ghosh added: “We will hold this meeting at a later date, the details of which will be duly communicated to our MLAs. All our legislators have communicated that they are firmly standing with the party during these difficult times.”
TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee was roughed up on Saturday, allegedly by locals, when he visited West Bengal’s Sonarpur area to meet families of post-poll violence victims. Stones, shoes, and eggs were hurled at him by unidentified people who also attempted to rain blows and kicks on him, while they shouted ‘thief, thief’ slogans.
Television visuals showed Banerjee being escorted out of the area wearing a helmet, with his shirt torn during the commotion. The BJP has claimed that those arrested for the assault on Abhishek were associated with a former TMC MLA. TMC has not reacted to this claim.
A day after the Sonarpur attack, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged he suffered injuries following an attack by BJP workers outside a police station in the Hooghly district. The alleged attack on Kalyan Banerjee took place near the Chanditala Police Station in the Hooghly district. The TMC blamed the ruling BJP for both incidents, but the BJP refuted the charges. Investigation is underway in both cases.
TMC spokesperson Ghosh had publicly reprimanded TMC MLAs for their alleged silence on the attack against Abhishek Banerjee, writing in an X post: “I noticed posts from national leaders of other parties protesting the attack on Abhishek. But I didn’t spot any posts from many of our party’s MPs, MLAs, councillors, officials, or former government officials.”
Sources said many MLAs are upset over the recent violent protests against senior TMC leaders, particularly the attack on Abhishek Banerjee while he was visiting families affected by post-poll violence. The incident has apparently created fear and resentment among a section of the party’s MLAs.
Several legislators are reportedly unhappy with the current style of functioning and the party’s handling of the aftermath of the assembly elections. There is also growing criticism within the party over the increasing influence of a few top leaders.
Senior TMC leaders tried to play down the development, saying the MLAs had “prior engagements.” However, party insiders admitted that the low attendance reflects deeper discontent brewing within the organisation.