Former West Bengal minister and ex-Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim held a closed-door meeting with Ritabrata Banerjee — leader of the breakaway bloc in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislative party and the Leader of the Opposition — at the West Bengal Assembly on Monday, 8 June, setting off a wave of political speculation across the state. The meeting, held inside Banerjee's chamber within the Assembly premises, came at a moment of acute internal turbulence within the ruling party.

What Happened Inside the Assembly

Hakim, a four-time All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) legislator from 2011 onwards, arrived at Ritabrata Banerjee's allotted room accompanied by fellow party legislator Sandipan Saha, who is also part of the breakaway bloc. The meeting lasted an unspecified duration, but its very occurrence drew immediate attention given the deepening fault lines within the TMC.

Hakim, who resigned from his position as Mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation last week, declined to address media queries about the agenda of the meeting. He offered no comment on what was discussed with Banerjee or Saha.

The Delhi Dimension: Rebel MPs at BJP Minister's Residence

The Kolkata development unfolded as former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee — also the TMC's national general secretary — were in New Delhi to attend a meeting of the opposition INDIA Bloc, convened by Indian National Congress (INC) national president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Simultaneously, a group of rebel TMC Members of Parliament reportedly gathered at the official residence of Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav in New Delhi. The group was reportedly led by four-time Lok Sabha members Dr Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar and Satabdi Roy, an actress-turned-politician. According to reports, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari was also present at the residence at the time — he is in New Delhi to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the West Bengal Government and the Union Government for the implementation of Ayushman Bharat, the central health insurance scheme, in the state.

Reports indicate that as many as 20 TMC MPs from both houses of Parliament were present at the meeting at Yadav's residence, including Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha and from the primary membership of the TMC earlier the same day.

The Core Grievance

According to reports, the central demand of the rebel MPs is their refusal to accept Abhishek Banerjee as the party's general secretary. This internal contestation over party hierarchy has been simmering for weeks and appears to have reached a flashpoint, with factions simultaneously mobilising in both Kolkata and New Delhi.

What This Signals

The convergence of events — a senior TMC leader meeting the opposition bloc chief in the Assembly, rebel MPs congregating at a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister's home, and a key MP resigning from Parliament membership — suggests the TMC's internal fracture has moved beyond rhetoric. Notably, this is unfolding while the party's top leadership is occupied with national opposition strategy in Delhi, raising questions about the timing. All eyes will now be on the TMC's formal response and whether further resignations or floor-crossings follow.