A scheduled meeting at the residence of former chief minister Mamata Banerjee was cancelled Saturday after most party lawmakers failed to attend.
The absence of the majority of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislative wing suggests potential internal instability following recent violence against high-ranking party officials.
The gathering was intended to address party matters in Kolkata, West Bengal. However, 60 of the party's 80 Bengal MLAs [1] skipped the session. Only 20 lawmakers [2] turned up at the residence, leading to the eventual cancellation of the event.
Party members who missed the meeting said they were occupied following attacks on TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee [1]. The meeting was scheduled for the day after Abhishek Banerjee was assaulted [1].
The low attendance at the residence of the former chief minister marks a significant disruption in party coordination. The scale of the absence, with three-quarters of the state's legislative representatives missing, indicates a breakdown in the party's ability to convene its members during a period of crisis [1].
Abhishek Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee are prominent figures within the TMC. The fallout from the assaults on these leaders has created a ripple effect throughout the party's regional operations in West Bengal [1].
“60 of the party's 80 Bengal MLAs skipped the session”
The failure of 75% of the party's MLAs to attend a high-level meeting at the former chief minister's home signals a significant lapse in party discipline or a deeper internal rift. While the official reason provided was the preoccupation with recent attacks on party leadership, the scale of the boycott suggests that the TMC may be struggling with cohesion and command-and-control structures during a period of political volatility in West Bengal.
