Mamata holds closed-door meeting with Kunal, Madan and Dola amid TMC crisis

Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday held a meeting at her Kalighat residence with senior Trinamool Congress leaders Kunal Ghosh, Madan Mitra and Dola Sen amid growing uncertainty within the party ahead of a pre-announced protest programme. The meeting comes as discussions continue over recent developments involving the party’s legislators and organisational structure.

The developments follow a Trinamool Congress legislative party meeting held on Sunday, where only around 20 of the party’s 80 MLAs reportedly attended. The absence of a large number of legislators from the meeting has drawn attention within political circles and has led to questions regarding the party’s internal situation.

According to party sources, discussions during the Kalighat meeting focused on organisational matters and the party’s future course of action. The meeting also took place against the backdrop of the recent expulsion of two legislators, Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay and Sandipan Saha, from the party on allegations of anti-party activities.

The political situation became more complicated after allegations relating to forged signatures emerged. Two Trinamool MLAs accused members of their own party of falsifying their signatures. During a press conference at Nabanna on Monday, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari stated that written complaints had been submitted to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Basu alleging signature forgery.

Shortly after those allegations surfaced publicly, the Trinamool Congress announced the expulsion of Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay and Sandipan Saha. The meeting between Mamata Banerjee and the three senior leaders took place as the party prepared for its scheduled protest programme while addressing organisational issues arising from recent developments.