Intra-Power Struggle Within TMC in Hindistan: Party Office Locked in Gangarampur

A deep division is being experienced in the internal politics of the ruling Tüm Hindistan Trinamool Kongresi (TMC) in the Batı Bengal state of Hindistan. The flames of the internal conflict between the Kalighat and Ritabrata factions in Kolkata have now spread to the Gangarampur region of Güney Dinajpur district. In the stronghold of Biplob Mitra, one of the influential figures of the region and a former minister, the Kalighat-backed leaders suffered a major defeat. Leaders who came to the regional party office for the 21 Temmuz preparatory meeting were surprised to see the doors locked. Unable to enter the office, the leaders had to helplessly hold the meeting in an adjacent club building. This incident completely exposed the unprecedented factional infighting within the party across Gangarampur.

According to the pre-planned program, it was decided to hold a 21 Temmuz preparatory meeting at the TMC district office near Gangarampur Yeni Pazar on Monday. KumarGanj MP Toraf Hossain Mandal, former district president Mrinal Sarkar, and other senior leaders came to attend the meeting. However, when they arrived at the party office, they saw that the door was locked and no responsible staff were present in the office. Despite waiting for a long time, the staff felt great anger when the key did not arrive. To save their prestige, they had to hastily organize a meeting in a club next door. However, this humiliation and anger did not subside there; after the meeting, the leaders returned to the district office with their supporters and occupied it.

The angry Kalighat-backed leaders and workers who returned to the office hung their own new locks over the lock placed by the Biplob Mitra faction. An unprecedented event such as the occupation of the office and the hanging of mutual locks created great political excitement throughout the city of Gangarampur. This incident proves how cornered the Kalighat faction is still organizationally in the region. This situation shows that control over the party management in the region is entirely in Biplob's hands. This ongoing struggle reveals the serious fractures and authority vacuum in the party's local administrative structure.

Following the incident, Mrinal Sarkar expressed his anger towards Biplob, claiming that the party office was deliberately closed and an attempt was made to sabotage their meeting. Evaluating the refusal of the office manager, who is said to be close to Biplob, to hand over the key as a planned sabotage, Sarkar stated that they still successfully held the meeting with the participation of all district leaders. Furthermore, warning leaders who leave the party or change sides, he emphasized that every TMC worker in the region is loyal to party leader Mamata Banerjee. Sarkar demanded that if Biplob trusts his power, he should dare to compete with his own symbols in future elections. These statements signal that the tension between the two factions will escalate even further.

Following the defeat suffered by TMC in the previous Vidhan Sabha elections, senior leader Biplob Mitra parted ways with party leader Mamata Banerjee, joined the Ritabrata faction, and was expelled on the grounds of engaging in anti-party activities. Since this incident, the district office under Biplob's control has been a constant subject of dispute between the two factions. On the other hand, an explosive post shared by Mrinal Sarkar on social media containing the message 'We are not traitors' started a new debate across the district. Calling on those who remain loyal to Mamata Banerjee, Sarkar openly described those who abandon the leader in difficult times as 'traitors'. Despite all these accusations and events, there has been no statement or reaction from Biplob Mitra yet, and he has not responded to phone calls.