All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator and party spokesman Kunal Ghosh on Monday said that his party's landslide defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections was, in hindsight, a necessary reckoning — one that stripped away the cover of opportunists and traitors who had embedded themselves within the organisation. Ghosh, a loyalist of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, made the remarks in a social media post, offering a candid and unusually frank post-mortem of the poll rout.

The Defeat That Ghosh Now Calls Necessary

Ghosh acknowledged that the 4 May results left him deeply unsettled — even his personal win from Beliaghata Assembly Constituency brought little comfort. But he said his perspective has since shifted.

'On 4 May I felt bad after the Trinamool Congress government was defeated. My personal victory in Beliaghata Assembly Constituency did not give me much joy either. But today it seems that what happened was for good,' Ghosh wrote in his post.

His reasoning: had the party won, those he describes as 'opportunists' and 'traitors' would have continued to operate unchecked, cloaked in the privileges of power.

Targeting the 'Rebel Majority' Within TMC

Ghosh's remarks were widely read as a pointed rebuke of the so-called 'rebel majority' faction within the Trinamool Congress legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly, which has coalesced under expelled TMC legislator Ritabrata Banerjee. Without naming individuals directly, Ghosh sketched a damning portrait of those he believes exploited the party's time in power.

'Those who are opportunists would have mingled with us by pretending to be friends. Some thieves, who are pretending to be saints now to save themselves, would have stolen more without any kind of restraint. The arrogance of some of the party leaders would have increased. Some criminals, who entered the party, would have oppressed their opponents excessively, not sparing even a section within the Trinamool Congress,' he wrote.

He also took aim at what he called 'non-political celebrities' who, in his view, exploited proximity to power, as well as sections of police, bureaucrats, and industrialists who, he alleged, used the party's dominance to advance personal interests.

Impact on Grassroots Workers

Ghosh argued that the continued presence of these elements would have suffocated the party's genuine base. Dedicated workers, organisers, and well-wishers would have been sidelined and demoralised, he said, had the TMC returned to power with its internal contradictions unresolved.

'The results of this election might have thrown our party out of power. But the results have helped clean up the accumulated garbage. With Mamata Banerjee at the top, the genuine and dedicated workers, who truly love the party, will help Trinamool Congress to continue with its fight,' Ghosh wrote.

What Ghosh Says Comes Next

Framing the defeat as a purifying moment rather than a terminal one, Ghosh struck a defiant note about the party's future. 'The accumulated fat within the party had started dripping, even though it is going through a seemingly bad phase. The test of time is strengthening the party for the future,' he said.

He closed with a pointed message about public accountability: 'After all, it takes courage to stand against the power-oriented opportunist political wave. People are watching. Their judgment would be the last word.' The remarks signal that TMC's internal reckoning is far from over, with loyalists like Ghosh clearly preparing for a prolonged battle to reclaim the party's direction ahead of future electoral contests.