As the Trinamool Congress (TMC) faces an existential crisis after losing power in West Bengal, which it ruled for 15 consecutive years, the political future of its supremo, Mamata Banerjee, arguably the country’s fiercest woman leader, looks uncertain. And now, she is reportedly trying hard to enter the Lok Sabha.
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Having lost her own den, Bhabanipur, in the recently held Assembly elections to the incumbent chief minister, Suvendu Adhikari, the 71-year-old leader has found herself outside the state legislature, where her party has imploded over an alleged forgery of signature to pick the new Leader of Opposition.
TMC also under threat in New Delhi?
While a splinter group is threatening to wrest control of the TMC, which Mamata founded in 1998, in Bengal, ominous signs are also being perceived in New Delhi, where the party’s MPs are reportedly not on the same page. Speculation is rife that several of its parliamentarians are not happy with the leadership of Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s leader in the Lower House and also its national general secretary.
Mamata eyeing LS membership now?
Mamata, who overhauled her party on Friday (June 5) and reportedly clipped the wings of her nephew by appointing two national joint secretaries, is now reportedly planning to become an MP. However, according to some reports, when the TMC asked the sitting MP from the state’s Berhampore constituency to vacate the seat for the supremo to contest in a by-election, he refused. The reports even claimed that a former India cricketer carried the missive to Pathan, also a former national cricketer and member of two World Cup-winning squads, but failed to convince him.
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It may be mentioned here that Mamata had fielded Pathan in Berhampore in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the latter went on to become a giant killer, defeating Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a five-time MP from the seat, by over 85,000 votes.
TMC wrested Berhampore in 2024
Berhampore is located in Murshidabad district, which is a Muslim-dominated one, and the TMC turned it into one of its strong bases in recent years till the 2026 battle. In the latest elections, the party’s 2021 tally of 20 seats in Murshidabad plummeted to just nine, with other parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Communist Party of India and the newly formed Aam Janata Unnayan Party also claiming a piece of the cake each.
If Pathan is convinced eventually and Mamata wins from Berhampore to go to the Lok Sabha, it will mark her return to Parliament after a decade and a half. Given the seat’s Muslim dominance, the TMC might feel it is safer to win against the Hindu-centric BJP. However, given the way the party’s minority votes alienated it in the 2026 Assembly polls, one can’t be certain about her win.
Mamata no stranger to LS
Mamata has served six terms in the Lok Sabha to date, starting from 1984 till 2011, when she resigned from Parliament to focus on state politics. Given the TMC’s potential turmoil in the Lower House, with senior members such as Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar openly speaking against the party, the supremo would be desperate to protect her last remaining bastion, which is the TMC’s sizeable presence in Parliament. The party has 28 MPs in the Lower House (one member passed away in 2024 after they won 29).
Also read: After Mamata’s fortress falls in Bengal, can TMC MPs keep party flag flying?
With the monsoon season not far and the next general elections less than three years away, Mamata has her task cut out to ensure that the party doesn’t slip more, which would also jeopardise its weight in the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance and one of the country’s major forces against the Narendra Modi government.
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