Kolkata: Infighting among Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders in some West Bengal districts surfaced on Saturday and Sunday at the post-Durga puja meetings being held at all community blocks, party officer bearers familiar with the matter said.
The incidents took place at a time when the TMC state leadership is forming new organisational committees in the districts in the run-up to the 2026 assembly elections. Several new committees were announced on Sunday as well when Bengal was preparing for Diwali.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is not the TMC’s enemy. Nor are Congress or CPI(M). TMC is TMC’s enemy.” Anubrata Mondal, TMC’s former Birbhum district unit president and a known loyalist of party chairperson Mamata Banerjee, said at a Bijaya sammilani (community feasts where people exchange greetings after Durga puja) meeting in Siuri town.
Although Mondal did not take names, party leaders said his remark was aimed at his rival Kajal Sheikh. Followers of the two heavyweight leaders started slogans against each other when the meeting started. TMC announced new committees for its various units and frontal organisations in Birbhum earlier this week.
“This is not the first time. The rivalry between Mondal and Sheikh took an ugly turn at a closed door meeting our national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee held at his Kolkata office on September 15. Banerjee intervend when they started quarrelling. He said all differences must be set aside in the interest of the party,” a state TMC leader said, requesting anonymity.
Addressing another Bijaya sammilani event in the district’s Murarai on Sunday, TMC’s four-time Birbhum Lok Sabha seat winner Shatabdi Roy told party workers that those indulging in infighting would be treated as traitors.
“Some of you may think that you can mobilise your followers to ensure the defeat of a TMC MP or MLA but bear in mind that at the end of the day you will be seen as a traitor,” Roy told the audience.
Infighting in the TMC unit at North 24 Parganas district’s Haroa also surfaced on Saturday when several leaders including the local community block unit president and other bearers were conspicuous by their absence at Bijaya sammilani meeting.
Sheikh Rabiul Islam, the party’s Haroa legislator, tried to bring the situation under control while addressing workers.“We will look into this. There should not be differences among our men,” he said.
The ruling party and its rival BJP started preparing for the crucial 2026 elections hours after the five-day Durga puja festival ended on October 2.
With educational institutions and offices closed because of the annual holidays, TMC planned more than 600 Bijaya sammilani events across all community blocks in Bengal. These started on October 5. Abhishek Banerjee selected around 50 leaders to address these meetings and focus on raging issues.
The most important among the issues, party leaders said, is the Election Commission’s plans to hold a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bengal.
BJP won only 77 of Bengal’s 294 assembly seats in 2021 while TMC bagged 213.
