Madan Mitra cites Abhishek's 'Hitlerian attitude' for quitting Mamata camp
Synopsis
Veteran TMC legislator Madan Mitra has broken with Mamata Banerjee's faction, publicly accusing Abhishek Banerjee of a 'Hitlerian attitude' that made the party unworkable. The loyalist camp’s counter — that ED summons on Mitra’s wife and sons drove the defection — frames the split as both a power struggle and a law-enforcement pressure play, deepening the TMC’s most serious internal fracture in years.
Key Takeaways
Madan Mitra , a veteran TMC MLA , quit the Mamata Banerjee -led faction on 15 July , citing Abhishek Banerjee’s ‘Hitlerian attitude’.
Mitra insists he has not left the party — only his posts — and plans to attend the rival faction’s Martyrs’ Day programme on 21 July in Kolkata .
TMC MP Mahua Moitra alleged the switch was triggered by ED summons served on Mitra’s wife and sons the previous day.
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee linked the episode to a broader national pattern of the BJP using the ED and CBI to engineer defections.
Mitra joined the camp of West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee , widening the TMC’s internal rift.
Trinamool Congress MLA Madan Mitra on Wednesday, 15 July publicly blamed Abhishek Banerjee's “Hitlerian attitude” for his decision to abandon the Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the party and align with West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee. Loyalists of the former Chief Minister fired back, alleging that Mitra switched sides at the “invitation” of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
What Madan Mitra Said
Mitra, a veteran Trinamool Congress legislator, was direct about his reasons for walking away from the Mamata camp. “Reason behind that, it was not possible for me to continue with Mamata Banerjee because everything was getting suffocated because of the Hitlerian attitude of Abhishek Banerjee,” he said.
Crucially, Mitra drew a distinction between leaving the party and relinquishing his posts. “I have not left the party, I have left all the posts of Trinamool Congress, and now I am very much with Trinamool Congress,” he asserted. He also confirmed he would attend the rival faction’s Martyrs’ Day programme in Kolkata on 21 July, a date that carries deep symbolic weight in Trinamool’s political calendar.
Loyalists Allege ED Pressure
Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra was unsparing in her response, linking Mitra’s defection directly to an ED summons served on his family. “It’s not a surprise because yesterday his wife and sons were summoned by the ED. So, he has gone on the summons of the ED,” she told reporters.
Moitra went further: “He has gone on the invitation of the ED. So, we should understand that the person who was abusing the Ritabrata gang day before yesterday, today he is going there and sitting next to Ritabrata. This has been done on the special invitation of the ED. So, we wish him good luck, good health. May you have a lovely time working under the Ritabrata gang.”
Kalyan Banerjee Echoes the Charge
Trinamool MP Kalyan Banerjee offered a more measured but pointed observation. “MPs and MLAs can do whatever they feel like… people of West Bengal and the workers of the Trinamool Congress are with Mamata Banerjee,” he said, signalling that the party leadership was not rattled by the exit.
He also echoed the ED-pressure narrative: “People can go where they are safe and at peace… where there will be no pressure of the police, CBI and ED.” Connecting the episode to a national pattern, he added: “This picture is prevalent across India; if the BJP wants to bring in someone, they send the ED and the CBI. Maybe that happened here as well.”
Background and What Comes Next
Despite switching camps, Mitra expressed gratitude towards Mamata Banerjee earlier on Wednesday, acknowledging that she had stood by party workers for a long time. The split deepens an already widening rift inside the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC), with the Ritabrata faction positioning itself as an alternative power centre ahead of 21 July’s Martyrs’ Day rallies — a day that both factions now plan to mark separately. The ED’s role, real or alleged, is likely to remain a flashpoint as the intra-party conflict plays out in public.
Point of View
But it also reflects a documented pattern that opposition parties have flagged for years. What is undeniable is that a veteran legislator has gone public against the most powerful figure in TMC after Mamata herself, and done so in the sharpest possible language. If Abhishek Banerjee’s authority within the party was already contested, Mitra has now made that contestation front-page. The Martyrs’ Day split on 21 July will be the first real test of how much ground the rival faction has actually gained.
NationPress
15 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Madan Mitra quit the Mamata Banerjee faction of TMC?
Madan Mitra said he left the Mamata Banerjee-led faction because of what he described as the ‘Hitlerian attitude’ of TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, which he said was suffocating the party’s old guard. He stressed he had not left the Trinamool Congress itself, only his posts within the party.
Which faction did Madan Mitra join after leaving Mamata’s camp?
Mitra aligned with the faction led by West Bengal Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee, a rival grouping within the broader Trinamool Congress ecosystem. He confirmed he would attend the rival faction’s Martyrs’ Day programme in Kolkata on 21 July.
What did Mahua Moitra say about Madan Mitra’s defection?
TMC MP Mahua Moitra alleged that Mitra’s switch was triggered by ED summons served on his wife and sons the day before his announcement. She said he had gone on the ‘invitation of the ED’ and wished him well while making clear the party did not consider the loss significant.
How did Kalyan Banerjee respond to Madan Mitra’s exit?
TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee said the party’s workers and the people of West Bengal remained with Mamata Banerjee. He also suggested that the BJP routinely uses the ED and CBI to engineer defections, implying the same may have happened in Mitra’s case.
What is the significance of the 21 July Martyrs’ Day split?
21 July is a politically charged date in TMC’s calendar, commemorating the 1993 Youth Congress march firing. Both the Mamata faction and the rival Ritabrata faction now plan separate programmes, making it the first public test of the intra-party split’s depth and organisational reach.
