3 min readKolkataMay 11, 2026 05:50 AM IST
First published on: May 10, 2026 at 06:34 PM IST
As the BJP era in West Bengal gets underway, the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) leadership team in the Assembly is full of leaders seen as close to party chairperson Mamata Banerjee, with those seen as close to her nephew and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee not finding any space. The last TMC government had several leaders from the Abhishek camp in the party.
Though the party statement announcing the appointment of Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the Leader of the Opposition, Asima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as deputy leaders of Opposition, and Kolkata Mayor Firad Hakim as the Chief Whip bore the signature of party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, all four are close to Mamata. The party said the leaders would work “with commitment in the interest of the people of Bengal”.
After the TMC’s sweeping victory in the 2021 Assembly elections, Abhishek had pushed for greater representation of younger leaders within the organisation. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections too, he sought to deny renomination to senior leaders such as Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Sougata Roy, before Mamata intervened and retained them as candidates.
In the latest Assembly election, the party replaced at least 74 sitting MLAs with fresh faces, a move that several leaders privately admitted triggered internal resentment and factionalism in multiple constituencies. Abhishek was also seen as the leader who brought in and backed political consultancy firm I-PAC, which aided in its 2021 win. However, this time, the role of I-PAC has come under question, with several leaders criticising the way it went about its role.
The latest leader to criticise I-PAC is the party’s Sreerampur MP Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who has had run-ins with Abhishek in the past, who alleged in a recent interview to Anandabazar Patrika that the political consultancy firm’s electoral management was to be blamed for the TMC’s defeat and that it had been accorded importance at the cost of the party organisation.
Ballygunge legislator Chattopadhyay, a veteran TMC leader who has represented Bhabanipur several times, has handled multiple ministerial portfolios in previous state governments and is regarded within the party as an experienced parliamentary hand capable of steering the Opposition in the 294-member House where the BJP enjoys a clear majority with 207 MLAs.
Hakim, among the TMC’s seniormost MLAs, retained the Kolkata Port seat neighbouring Mamata’s Bhabanipur constituency and remains one of the party’s most prominent minority faces. Asima Patra is the lone district representative among the appointees, representing Hooghly’s Dhanekhali, while Bandyopadhyay represents Chowrangee in Kolkata.
A senior TMC leader said the party’s choices reflected the importance of legislative experience at a time when it would sit in the Opposition. “Sobhandeb and Hakim were chosen not only because they are senior leaders close to Mamata, but also because the Opposition needs experienced legislators who understand the functioning of the Assembly,” the leader said.
By making these appointments, the TMC has also signalled the official acceptance of its defeat in the Assembly elections despite Mamata Banerjee’s refusal to submit her resignation to the Governor. The day after the May 4 results, Banerjee claimed she and her party had not been defeated, emphasising she would not resign. “In this election, the BJP and the Election Commission played a dirty game. They forcefully grabbed votes,” she alleged.
