"Go if you want to...": Mamata tells Councillors at Kalighat meet amid mass resignations

Mamata Banerjee held a high-stakes meeting at her Kalighat residence on Monday. Addressing mayors and councilors from the northern suburbs—including Dum Dum, North Dum Dum, South Dum Dum, Baranagar, and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation—she delivered a blunt message regarding the ongoing wave of resignations. Acknowledging that the party is passing through a difficult phase, she stated that while the party sees both happy and sad times, those who wish to leave are free to do so.

The meeting follows a series of mass resignations in municipalities such as Kanchrapara, Diamond Harbour, Halishahar, and North Barrackpore, which have left the party’s control over local urban bodies shaky. Banerjee instructed those choosing to stay to remain united and fight back with determination to turn the party's fortunes around. She specifically emphasized the need to stand by grassroots workers who have faced physical attacks following the elections, expressing optimism that the TMC will eventually recover its ground.

To mobilize the remaining cadre, Banerjee has authorized councilors to hold protest programs and submit deputations at local police stations against the current state of affairs. She also took a moment to express grief over the death of South Dum Dum councilor Sanjay Das, urging his colleagues to support his family. As political pressure mounts on TMC-held boards, the party is now pivoting toward a strategy of legal defense and renewed street-level activism to maintain its administrative grip.