Congress leader invites Mamata Banerjee and TMC legislators to rejoin party

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has urged Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee to return to the Congress with the party’s remaining legislators and members of Parliament. Speaking on Thursday, Chowdhury said the Congress was prepared to accept Banerjee’s leadership in West Bengal. His appeal came after the TMC’s defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections and subsequent divisions within its legislative and parliamentary wings.

“There is no need for any separate entity at this moment,” Chowdhury said, arguing that little remained of the TMC after the election defeat. He said Banerjee should join the Congress with the party’s remaining MLAs and MPs and that Congress members in Bengal would work under her. The TMC won 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the BJP emerged as the largest party.

The source material says the TMC legislature party later split, with 58 rebel MLAs supporting expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition. The Assembly Speaker recognised the rival bloc. A separate rebellion also developed in the TMC’s parliamentary wing.

Rebel MPs joined the NCPI and extended support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, according to the report. Chowdhury linked his appeal to Banerjee’s engagement with the Congress-led INDIA alliance. He also asked her to return without what he described as political “baggage”, referring to her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

TMC MP Saugata Roy said the party remained separate and would consider a merger proposal only if it came formally from the Congress leadership. He added that no decision could be made without Abhishek Banerjee. BJP spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the TMC’s political purpose had ended, while stating that the BJP was ready to contest the Congress, TMC and CPI(M).