As a gesture of cooperation in line with the October 6 Nandigram assembly bypoll, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday made a direct pitch
to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and asked her to rejoin the Congress along with her remaining MLAs and MPs. He further assured that there would be no objection to her leading the party's Bengal unit. Chowdhury's appeal came at a time when the TMC is battling its deepest organisational crisis since its formation, with its legislative and parliamentary wings witnessing separate rebellions following the party's defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. "There is no need for any separate entity at this moment. Not much is left of the TMC after its defeat in the Assembly elections," Chowdhury said, referring to the recent split in the party. "We would urge Mamata Banerjee to join the Congress along with all the leftover MLAs and MPs. I will also make this appeal to the Congress high command that let her rejoin the party. We would accept her leadership in Bengal and work with her," he added. Notably, Banerjee parted ways from the Congress party and formed the Trinamool Congress nearly three decades ago. Seeking to build on the TMC faction's recent support for the Congress in Nandigram, Chowdhury said Banerjee should make a similar move in Rejinagar. "As a friendly gesture, just as she has supported the Congress candidate in Nandigram, she should also extend support to the Congress candidate in Rejinagar," he said. Last month, Mamata faction's Nandigram candidate withdrew from the contest after meeting West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. With the faction left without a candidate, Banerjee announced support for Congress nominee Milan Pradhan.
Mamata Parted Ways From Congress In 1998
Banerjee broke away from the Congress in 1998 to establish the TMC, which subsequently built its political identity by challenging the Congress as well as the Left Front. In 2011, the party ended the Left Front's 34-year rule and remained in power for 15 years.After the 2026 Assembly polls, the TMC suffered a massive defeat and BJP came to power in Bengal, causing an internal split in Mamata's party.
For Banerjee, Chowdhury's proposition also comes at a politically unusual moment: the leader who built the TMC after breaking away from the Congress is now being invited to return to the party, with the Congress offering to work under her leadership in Bengal.
(With agency inputs)
