Mass resignations across Trinamool Congress-controlled municipalities have thrown civic administration into turmoil and sharpened questions over the party’s organisational grip after its heavy defeat in West Bengal’s Assembly election.
North Barrackpore and Diamond Harbour, two areas long viewed as important TMC strongholds, have emerged as flashpoints in a wider municipal churn. Fifteen councillors in North Barrackpore submitted resignation letters, while eight councillors stepped down in Diamond Harbour, creating uncertainty over the stability of local boards and the delivery of basic civic services.
North Barrackpore Municipality has 23 wards, though three councillor posts had already fallen vacant following deaths. Of the remaining 20 elected representatives, 15 resigned, including chairman Malay Ghosh. The resignations followed ward-level results showing the TMC trailing across most parts of the municipality during the Assembly election. Party functionaries said the councillors had accepted “moral responsibility” for the verdict and did not want to continue in office after losing public confidence.
Diamond Harbour, represented in Parliament by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, has become a more politically sensitive case. The municipality has 16 wards, and the resignation of eight councillors has placed the board under strain. The councillors cited allegations of corruption, illegal construction, police interference and extortion in local administration. Some also indicated that more resignations could follow, raising the possibility of a deeper institutional crisis before the next municipal polls.
The developments come after a broader wave of resignations across TMC-run civic bodies in West Bengal. Bhatpara, Garulia, Halisahar and other municipalities in North 24 Parganas have also seen councillors leave their posts, reflecting the pressure on grassroots representatives after the party’s Assembly setback. More than 100 councillors are reported to have resigned across different municipalities, though the figures vary by district and board status.
The unrest has coincided with a sharp public intervention by senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who resigned as the party’s Barasat organisational district president. She said she was taking moral responsibility for the party’s poor showing in the area, but her resignation letter and subsequent remarks went beyond a routine organisational exit. She criticised what she described as growing criminalisation, corruption and a weakening of the party’s old street-level culture.
Ghosh Dastidar’s comments have put the spotlight on I-PAC, the political consultancy that has worked with the TMC’s campaign apparatus. Without naming only electoral strategy as the cause of the defeat, she questioned the influence of “fly-by-night” organisations and argued that dedicated local workers had been pushed aside. Her remarks echoed resentment among sections of the party’s older leadership, who believe decisions have become increasingly centralised and consultant-driven.
The Barasat MP’s departure from the district post followed her removal as the TMC’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha. That sequence has fuelled speculation that organisational differences inside the party are widening after the electoral reverse. Her criticism has also triggered counter-attacks from within the TMC, indicating that the leadership dispute is no longer confined to private forums.
For the TMC, the timing is difficult. Mamata Banerjee’s party is trying to protect its organisational base after losing power in the state following 15 years in office. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the Assembly election, along with its emphatic win in the Falta repoll, has changed the political balance in areas once seen as resistant to opposition advances.
Falta’s result has carried added symbolic weight because the constituency falls within the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha segment. The BJP’s Debangshu Panda won by a margin of more than one lakh votes, while the TMC’s vote share collapsed sharply. The result has damaged the party’s claim of maintaining a resilient “Diamond Harbour model” built around welfare delivery, local control and tight campaign management.
Civic instability could now become an immediate governance challenge. Municipal boards are responsible for water supply, waste management, building permissions, roads, drainage, health services and local revenue collection. Large-scale resignations can slow decision-making, delay approvals and create confusion over administrative authority, especially where boards lose working majorities.
