- By Shubham Bajpai
- Sun, 05 Jul 2026 07:31 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Chandrima Bhattacharya resigned from all TMC party posts.
- Mamata Banerjee expressed anger over Trinamool Bhavan incident.
- Chandrima cited loss of trust as reason for exit.
State Bureau, Kolkata: Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's other close aide and Trinamool Congress (TMC)'s Bengal unit chief Chandrima Bhattacharya has resigned from all party posts and is set to join the rebel camp.
Chandrima was a minister in Mamata's Cabinet in Bengal. Ministers who were once part of Mamata's most trusted team have either defected to the rebel groups or distanced themselves from the party or are politically marginalised.
Who remains with Mamata now?
At present, only former minister Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay remains with her. Most others, including Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Arup Roy, and Javed Khan, have already left her, while Bratya Basu and Shashi Panja are currently silent.
How did relations between Chandrima and Mamata turned sour?
According to sources, the strong relationship between Mamata and Chandrima suffered its first strain on June 22, when the latter's son, Sourav Bose, attended a meeting of the Ritabrata faction at a Newtown hotel.
At the time, Chandrima had said it was her son's personal decision, hinting at a dissociation. What is more surprising in Chandrima's exit is that she was made the state unit chief by Mamata almost a month ago, replacing Subrata Bakshi.
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Last Friday, several rebel leaders, including Firhad Hakim and Sandipan Saha, led by Ritabrata Banerjee, stormed the temporary Trinamool Bhavan and seized control of it.
Chandrima was present there at the time, but left without resistance, and the Ritabrata faction locked the building.
Sources say that this made Mamata extremely upset with Chandrima. Mamata was angry over Chandrima leaving without expressing protest.
After her resignation, Chandrima said Mamata Banerjee had told her over the phone, "You handed over the entire building to them.
Speaking to the media after submitting her resignation, Bhattacharya said, "The confidence that Mamata ji had in me seemed to have weakened. When trust and confidence were no longer there, it became difficult to continue working as a party worker... I respect Kunal Ghosh, but who is he to question my loyalty, and on what basis? Mamata Banerjee knows whether I am loyal or not."
After her resignation, Mamata faction's leader Kunal Ghosh had called her move pre-planned. "Chandrima Bhattacharya was our didi. When she was in office, they (the rebel faction) came. If she had remained there for some more time as president, locks would not have been put," Ghosh had added.