West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has once again reshuffled the leadership of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) youth and women wings, removing Saayoni Ghosh and Mala Roy from their positions amid a growing rebellion within the party. The decision comes just a week after Banerjee had reappointed Ghosh as the president of the TMC youth wing as part of a major structural overhaul to tighten her control over the organization.
New Appointments in TMC Youth and Women Wings
According to party sources, Ghosh, who is the Member of Parliament from Jadavpur, has been replaced by youth leader Arnab Banerjee as the president of the TMC youth wing. Meanwhile, Mala Roy, the MP from Kolkata Dakshin, has been removed as the president of the Trinamool Mahila Congress, the party's women's wing. She has been succeeded by Alifa Ahmed, a TMC MLA from Kaliganj in Nadia district.
Rebel MPs and Internal Turmoil
Both Ghosh and Roy are perceived to have aligned with a group of rebel TMC MPs in the Lok Sabha, which has been causing significant turmoil within the party. The dissidents claim that they will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to submit a letter seeking recognition as the 'real TMC'. This move follows the party's poor performance in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
With senior MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay reportedly joining the rebel camp on Saturday, leaders of the breakaway faction assert that 20 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha members have already signed the letter, including Ghosh and Roy. Dissident MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has announced that the faction, once recognized, would extend support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Parliament.
Background of the Reorganisation
Following a mutiny by the party's legislators in the state assembly, Banerjee had dissolved all former committees and frontal organisations across Bengal on June 5. She then reconstituted the TMC's organisational committee, packing the new leadership structure with party loyalists and old-timers in an attempt to revitalize the embattled party. Ironically, she had named both Ghosh and Roy for their respective posts in that reorganisation.
Banerjee also reappointed her nephew and Diamond Harbour MP, Abhishek Banerjee, as the party's national general secretary during the same reshuffle.
Reactions and Further Changes
A senior TMC Rajya Sabha MP, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the replacement decisions were taken at a party meeting three days ago. He remarked, 'Mamata didi had nurtured people with milk and honey, but they turned out to be snakes,' referring to the 20 dissenting party MPs in the Lok Sabha.
In a related development, TMC's Beleghata MP Kunal Ghosh has been appointed as the president of the party's North Kolkata organisational district, a position previously held by Sudip Bandyopadhyay. 'In the wake of the recent developments, the party has asked me to shoulder responsibilities for the post,' Ghosh told reporters.
Meanwhile, veteran parliamentarian Saugata Roy has been named the chief advisor of the TMC's Lok Sabha wing, which currently comprises eight MPs who still owe allegiance to Mamata Banerjee.
