All Not Well In TMC? 45 MLAs Skip Party's Protest Day After 15 Missed Mamata Banerjee's Kalighat Meeting

TMC Protest: Since the BJP dethroned the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, all is not well in the Mamata Banerjee-led outfit. Several leaders have raised their concerns over the handling of the party's leadership, given the drubbing TMC faced in the Bengal Assembly Election 2026, where the party won only 80 seats from 215 in the 2021 polls.

The fissures in TMC grabbed the spotlight on Wednesday when at least 45 elected MLAs skipped the party's first major protest after its defeat in the Bengal Assembly polls. The absence of MLAs triggered fresh political chatter in Bengal over possible fault lines within the organisation amid the party's struggle to regroup after its electoral setback.

TMC MLAs today staged a sit-in near the Ambedkar statue on the assembly premises against "post-poll violence" and hawker eviction drives, but only 35 attended the protest. 

Under the BJP rule , a “bulldozer policy” has become synonymous with the eviction of the poor and the destruction of livelihoods.

Trinamool Congress legislators protested outside the Legislative Assembly against this oppressive and anti-people governance. We strongly condemn… pic.twitter.com/8dOJF4KB4f

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 20, 2026

However, party leaders have dismissed any internal discord and attributed the absence to logistical constraints and organisational responsibilities.

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TMC MLA Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who is also the party's choice for the post of Leader of the Opposition, said, "Around 35 MLAs were present at the programme today. As the legislators are busy with workers in many post-poll violence-affected areas, many couldn't come. And then the programme was held at a day's notice, so it was a problem for MLAs who stay in far-flung areas to turn up."

The development came a day after TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with party legislators, where many MLAs argued that the party needed to reconnect with people through on-ground mobilisation.

Several legislators reportedly conveyed that "holding meetings inside closed rooms" would not help a party seeking to recover lost political ground, PTI reported. It was also reported that at least 15 MLAs skipped the meeting yesterday.

Our Hon'ble Chairperson Smt @MamataOfficial and our Hon'ble National General Secretary Shri @abhishekaitc met with all our MLAs today, in Kalighat.

Fear, intimidation and threats will NEVER break our spirit.

We have always fought for the rights, dignity and welfare of common… pic.twitter.com/dYdVSlgDJ8

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) May 19, 2026

Political observers said the relatively thin attendance at the first major protest by TMC legislators after the change of guard has inevitably raised questions over how effectively the party can transition from a long-entrenched ruling force into an opposition outfit.

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The issue may not be the number alone, they said, but the message such optics send at a time when the party is attempting to rebuild its organisational confidence after an unprecedented setback.