Stunned, betrayed: TMC foot soldiers struggle with 31-day bad news cycle

KOLKATA: Thirty-one days after Trinamool suffered its worst electoral setback since coming to power, disbelief, anger and introspection continue to grip grassroots workers and loyalists across Kolkata, even as resignations, public criticism and organisational churn keep unsettling the rank and file.

The party, reduced to 80 seats in the 2026 assembly election against BJP’s 208, has seen internal strain deepen over the past month. On Wednesday, the leadership dissolved all party committees and those of its frontal organisations with immediate effect, promising introspection and restructuring.

The decision followed a fresh jolt in the assembly, where 58 MLAs elected on Trinamool tickets broke from the official line and chose first-time MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition. In recent weeks, several functionaries have skipped internal meetings, while elected representatives in local bodies have resigned or faced action in pending criminal and corruption cases. Among workers on the ground, the developments have landed as a personal blow.

“There is nothing left to say. I have been with the party since the day it was formed. I am 52 years old now but have never seen such a condition in my life. My feelings are a mix of anger and sadness. The party is suffering today due to the people who were brought in after winning in 2011. I still have the picture of Mamata Banerjee along with my parents in my room. I will not leave Didi ever,” said Abhijit Nag, a resident of Tala.

Sumit Biswas, another loyalist associated with Trinamool since its inception, voiced similar frustration while insisting his allegiance remains unchanged. “We are doing politics because of Didi. I have been with Mamata Banerjee since 1998. We have never liked what Abhishek did, but we stayed because of Didi, and we shall remain. We hope the party will rectify itself and form the govt in future,” he said.

Across neighbourhoods, workers offered different reasons for the defeat but many returned to the same complaint: the organisation had drifted away from its base. Tapas Das, a local party functionary from Chetla, said long-time workers were pushed aside as newer entrants gained influence. “The workers who fought on the streets for years gradually lost their voice. Decisions started coming from people who had little connection with the organisation. Many of us felt ignored long before the election result.”

In Ripon Street, some foot soldiers pointed to the growing role of an election consultancy firm. “Politics cannot be run entirely through surveys and presentations. We stopped listening to booth-level workers. Many of us repeatedly raised concerns, but nobody paid attention,” said Mohammad Nafis, a close aide of former Trinamool MP Sultan Ahmed.

A ward-level worker from Behala said the induction of leaders from rival parties widened resentment. “Old workers were shown the door while defectors got importance. That created resentment across rank and file. The election result has only exposed a problem that was building for years,” said Ashim Sarkar, a resident of Thakurpukur.

On Prince Anwar Shah Road, local functionary Swapan Saha said the leadership structure itself had come under scrutiny. “Many people in the organisation feel mistakes were made on different levels. Some hold Abhishek Banerjee responsible, others disagree. What is common is that the party should have listened more carefully to its grassroots workers,” said Saha.

Even amid the anger, a section of workers continue to draw a line between their criticism of the organisation and their loyalty to Mamata Banerjee. “As the party embarks on a process of introspection and rebuilding, the challenge before the party leadership is also about restoring the confidence of workers who, after a month of unrelenting bad news, remain stunned by the scale of the defeat but are unwilling to walk away from the party they helped build,” said Raja Guha, a party functionary since 1998 in the Shyambazar area. “Many wrong people joined the party after it came to power and old-timers were sidelined.”

Asutosh Laha, a senior citizen and a resident of Kasaripara in Bhowanipore, is yet to come out of the shock of Trinamool’s defeat in the assembly elections. A die-hard Mamata Banerjee fan, he feels there is still time for the party supremo to accept the challenge thrown by dissidents, and build a new platform of dedicated workers. “I am amazed to find many dissidents who were once close to Didi. She should take a lesson from this,” said Laha.

Mohammed Bilal, a Kidderpore resident and a Didi loyalist, will go as far as needed to rebuild the party’s unit in the neighbourhood. “After Didi’s defeat and the party’s poll debacle, several leaders of the area have changed overnight. But I need to reach out to fresh blood and reset the broken unit in parts of the Kidderpore-Ekbalpore area,” he said.