Abhishek, Mamata don’t listen to anyone: Rebel TMC MP Jagadish Basunia spills out what went wrong
The Statesman | 12 June 2026
As the names of the rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs have come to light, one of the dissident MPs, Jagadish Barma Basunia, said that one of the grievances of the breakaway parliamentarians is that some heavyweight party leaders including TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party general secreatary Abhishek Banerjee act on their own whims without any consultation.
“The number could be higher; 19 people have resigned, and more might follow. The issue lies in the way the TMC operates—Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee, and other party leaders or public representatives don’t listen to anyone,” Basunia said speaking to ANI.
Explaining his point, Basunia said that the process of selecting candidates for the assembly elections should have been done after consultations with MPs and other leaders, instead of with I-PAC, the TMC’s politcal consultancy firm which had managed its electoral campaign in the recently-led assembly election in which the party was routed.
“In the recent Assembly elections, where the party lost, the process of selecting candidates should have involved consulting MPs, local leaders, or senior leaders. Our party leadership didn’t consult anyone. They, along with I-PAC, selected the candidates themselves,” he said.
Basunia said that since the Mamata Banerjee-led party does not have the intention to listen to its leaders, the rebel group has decided to reallign themselves with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Since there is no willingness within the party to speak up or listen to others, we have decided to align ourselves with development and with PM Narendra Modi,” the MP said.
Earlier on May 18, 19 MPs, including senior leaders Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy, submitted their names to the Lok Sabha Speaker’s Office.
The list of MPs also includes Bapi Haldar, Dr. Sharmila Sarkar, Prasun Bandyopadhyay, Jagadish Barma Basunia, Asit Kumar Mal, Arup Chakraborty, Rachna Banerjee, Saayoni Ghosh, Khalilur Rahaman, Abu Taher Khan, Yusuf Pathan, Mitali Bag, Mala Roy, Kalipada Soren, Deepak Adhikari, June Malia, and Partha Bhowmick.