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Adhir urges Mamata to rejoin Congress amid TMC crisis
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked Mamata Banerjee to bring her TMC members back into the Congress.
He said Congress would let her lead its work in West Bengal.
The request came after the TMC lost many seats in the 2026 Assembly election.
The TMC won 80 of the 294 seats, and the BJP became the largest party.
After the election, many TMC lawmakers rebelled.
Some rebel MLAs formed a rival group in the Assembly, and some rebel MPs also challenged Banerjee.
TMC leader Sougata Roy said the party would discuss a merger only if Congress made a formal offer.
The proposal is notable because Banerjee originally left Congress and created the TMC nearly three decades ago.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Mamata Banerjee and remaining TMC legislators to rejoin the Congress.
Chowdhury said Congress would accept Banerjee’s leadership in West Bengal and work under her.
The TMC won 80 of 294 Assembly seats in the 2026 elections, while the BJP emerged as the largest party.
The TMC’s Assembly wing split, with 58 rebel MLAs backing expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as their opposition leader.
TMC MP Sougata Roy rejected an immediate merger proposal but said the party would consider a formal offer from Congress leadership.
- Who
- Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury urged Mamata Banerjee and TMC legislators to rejoin the Congress; TMC MP Sougata Roy responded.
- What
- Chowdhury proposed that Banerjee merge the TMC with the Congress and lead the party’s work in West Bengal.
- Where
- The political dispute concerns West Bengal, with Chowdhury’s remarks reported from Kolkata.
- When
- The appeal was made on Thursday, October 1, after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.
- Why
- Chowdhury cited the TMC’s election defeat, internal rebellions and its participation in the Congress-led INDIA alliance.
Merger advocates
Merger skeptics
Whether the TMC should merge with Congress
Merger advocates
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the TMC should rejoin Congress because its political and organisational strength had weakened after the election defeat.
Merger skeptics
Sougata Roy said the TMC remains a separate party and would consider the proposal only if it came formally from Congress leadership.
Mamata Banerjee’s leadership
Merger advocates
Chowdhury said Congress was prepared to work under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership in West Bengal.
Merger skeptics
Roy said no decision about the TMC could be made without Abhishek Banerjee, whom he identified as the party’s national general secretary and a leader.
The TMC’s political future
Merger advocates
The BJP argued that the TMC had exhausted its political purpose after losing power and that its political trajectory was over.
Merger skeptics
The TMC remains part of the INDIA alliance, and its leaders have not agreed to dissolve the party or accept a merger.
Key facts
- TMC Assembly result
- The TMC won 80 seats in the 294-member West Bengal Assembly.
- Assembly rebellion
- Fifty-eight rebel MLAs backed expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as their Leader of the Opposition.
- Congress proposal
- Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Congress would accept Mamata Banerjee’s leadership in West Bengal.
- TMC response
- Sougata Roy said the party would discuss the matter if Congress made a formal proposal.
- Parliamentary unrest
- The article says rebel TMC MPs also challenged Banerjee’s leadership, with some joining NCPI and supporting the BJP-led NDA.
- Political history
- Mamata Banerjee left Congress and formed the TMC nearly three decades ago.
Quotes
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Congress leader and former West Bengal Congress president
“He (Chowdhury) has said what he felt. We have nothing to say. TMC is a separate party now. If Congress wants to come with an official proposal, we will discuss the matter in the party. The TMC is very much part of the INDIA alliance.”
theprint.in
“The TMC was born out of the Congress to fight the CPI(M). The TMC came to power on that plank. Now that the TMC itself is out of power, they have no other purpose left.”
theprint.in
Sources
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