TMC Crisis Deepens as Leaked Documents Reveal MLA Meeting at Mamata’s Home

The Trinamool Congress is facing its gravest internal crisis since its founding in 1998, as a rebellion within the party threatens Mamata Banerjee’s grip on the outfit that governed West Bengal for 15 years. Following a shock defeat to the BJP, a significant faction of TMC legislators has broken away from her leadership.

The split became official when rebel MLA Ritabrata Banerjee was recognised as the new Leader of the Opposition, overriding Mamata’s nominee, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay. Ritabrata claims the backing of 58 of the party’s 80 MLAs, giving the rebel camp a commanding majority within the legislature.

Leaked Documents Complicate the Narrative

A set of documents circulating online purportedly records two meetings held at Mamata’s Kalighat residence on May 6 and May 19. As many as 67 MLAs reportedly attended the first gathering, with signatures collected alongside constituency names. The May 6 meeting, allegedly chaired by former Kolkata mayor Firhad Hakim, was described as convened specifically to elect the legislature party’s leadership. A second meeting on May 19 bore the signatures of 59 legislators.

Forgery Allegations Trigger CID Probe

The authenticity of these documents is now under scrutiny. Ritabrata Banerjee and MLA Sandeepan Saha filed forgery complaints with assembly authorities, prompting the state government to hand the investigation to the CID. Ritabrata pointed to inconsistencies — including mismatched page colours and a signature-less third page — as grounds for suspicion. A rebel MLA, speaking anonymously, alleged that two separate signatures were collected from legislators at the May 19 meeting, one for attendance and one linked to the leadership election, raising further questions about transparency and intent within both camps.