Mamata Banerjee amid internal dissent after Bengal poll debacle

NEW DELHI: After All India Trinamool Congress suffered its worst electoral setback in years, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday told leaders unhappy with the situation that they were free to leave, amid internal dissent.At a meeting with the party’s candidates who contested the recent 2026 West Bengal assembly election, held at her Kalighat residence and attended by party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata struck a defiant note despite the crushing defeat, news agency PTI reported.“Those who are leaving for other parties, let them go. I will rebuild the party afresh,” she was quoted as saying by party sources, in a message seen as aimed at quelling speculation of defections after the poll debacle.She asked loyalists to begin restoring damaged party offices across the state and reconnect with workers at the grassroots. “To those who are staying, I say rebuild the damaged party offices, paint them and reopen them. If needed, I too will paint them. Trinamool Congress will never bow down. People’s mandate has been looted,” she said.The remarks come amid growing reports of internal discontent within the TMC after the party was pushed from power to the opposition benches in a dramatic electoral reversal.Of the 294 seats in the assembly, the TMC won just 80. Mamata herself lost from Bhabanipur, long considered her stronghold. The party had contested 291 seats, leaving three in the Darjeeling hills to ally Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha led by Anit Thapa, but only 80 of its candidates emerged victorious.Saturday’s closed-door meeting was called amid signs of unrest among defeated candidates and whispers of leaders switching sides after the loss. Mamata had hinted at such a possibility soon after results were declared.“I know many will leave for other parties. They may have their own compulsions. Whoever wants to go may go. I do not believe in forcibly holding anyone back,” she had said on May 5.The TMC later shared photos of the meeting on X, projecting a show of unity and praising its candidates for what it called a spirited fight despite “atrocities and intimidation” during the election campaign.