Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar’s resignation from all organisational posts in the Trinamool Congress has exposed widening strains inside the party weeks after its loss of power in West Bengal, turning a senior MP’s dissent into a test of Mamata Banerjee’s authority over a shaken political organisation.
Ghosh Dastidar, the Lok Sabha member from Barasat, stepped down on Wednesday from party positions including president of the All India Trinamool Mahila Congress, while making clear that she would continue as a parliamentarian. Her decision followed public criticism of the party’s functioning, including sharp remarks about leadership choices, campaign management and the need to return to the grassroots style that helped Trinamool build its base.
The resignation carries political weight because Ghosh Dastidar has long been counted among the party’s prominent women leaders and parliamentary voices. A physician by training and a multiple-term MP, she has represented Barasat since 2009 and has often spoken for the party in Parliament on health, constitutional and federal issues. Her exit from internal posts, without resigning from the Lok Sabha or the party itself, signals a calibrated protest rather than a complete break, but it has still added to the pressure on Trinamool at a volatile moment.
The immediate backdrop is the party’s defeat in the West Bengal Assembly election, which ended Mamata Banerjee’s 15-year rule in the state. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Suvendu Adhikari took oath as Chief Minister on May 9 at Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata, marking the first BJP government in West Bengal. Trinamool, which had dominated the state since 2011, is now attempting to contain desertions, internal blame and uncertainty over its next phase.
Ghosh Dastidar had earlier resigned as Barasat organisational district president, citing moral responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the area. She also criticised the influence of campaign strategists and advisers, arguing that senior workers were being pressured and that the party had moved away from its original street-based political culture. Her comments were widely read as a call for Mamata Banerjee to reassert direct control over the organisation rather than depend heavily on consultants or intermediaries.
The episode escalated after she attended an administrative review meeting chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari in Kalyani, despite reported objections from Trinamool. Her presence at the meeting was politically sensitive because the new state government is led by the BJP, Trinamool’s principal rival, and because several party leaders have warned against public gestures that may be seen as legitimising the new dispensation.
Ghosh Dastidar’s position is that parliamentary and constituency responsibilities cannot be suspended because of party discomfort. As an elected MP, she is expected to engage with government forums when the interests of her constituency or region are involved. That argument has found some support among those who believe opposition lawmakers must work with the state administration on development, even while remaining politically opposed to the ruling party.
The rift has widened further with her complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against fellow Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee. She has accused him of verbal abuse and misogynistic behaviour in Parliament, allegations that have given the dispute a gender dimension and raised questions about internal conduct within the party. Banerjee, a senior parliamentarian and Trinamool’s chief whip in the Lok Sabha, is a key figure in the party’s national legislative strategy, making the complaint particularly damaging.
For Trinamool, the timing is difficult. The party is trying to rebuild after losing power in a state where it had fused welfare delivery, cadre networks and Mamata Banerjee’s personal appeal into a formidable electoral machine. Its defeat has forced a reckoning over candidate selection, organisational discipline, messaging, welfare promises and the party’s dependence on leadership charisma. Ghosh Dastidar’s dissent suggests that these debates are no longer confined to closed-door meetings.
Mamata Banerjee has responded to the broader wave of rebellion with defiance, using sharp political language against those she sees as opportunists. Yet the challenge before her is not merely rhetorical. Trinamool must decide whether to accommodate senior leaders voicing discomfort, enforce discipline against dissenters, or reorganise its state and district structures before the BJP consolidates its control over the administration.
The Barasat MP’s resignation also affects Trinamool’s women’s mobilisation network. The women’s wing has been central to the party’s outreach, especially around welfare programmes and household-level campaigning. Losing its national president at a time when the new state government is reviewing major welfare schemes weakens a channel through which Trinamool had historically sustained its bond with women voters.
