Mamata Banerjee reconstitutes TMC disciplinary panel amid wave of resignations
Synopsis
With Trinamool Congress haemorrhaging senior leaders through resignations, Mamata Banerjee has dissolved the party's three-tiered disciplinary structure and replaced it with a single five-member panel — dropping former ministers Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas in the process. Political observers are already questioning how long even this leaner body will hold together.
Key Takeaways
Mamata Banerjee reconstituted Trinamool Congress's internal disciplinary committee on 20 June at a national working committee meeting in Kalighat, Kolkata .
The new five-member panel includes Derek O'Brien , Dola Sen , Sovandeb Chattopadhyay , Asima Patra , and Subhasish Chakraborty .
Former ministers Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas were dropped from the reconstituted committee; Biswas had lost his seat in the recent polls.
The move consolidates three separate disciplinary committees formed in November 2024 into a single body, following defections to a rebel camp.
Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque was simultaneously inducted into the party's national working committee.
Political observers have reportedly questioned whether the new committee will hold its shape given the ongoing wave of senior-level resignations.
Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday, 20 June reconstituted the party's internal disciplinary committee, replacing the earlier multi-tiered structure with a leaner, five-member panel. The move comes amid a spate of resignations by senior Trinamool leaders from organisational posts — a development that has put the party's internal cohesion under sharp scrutiny.
The New Committee
The reconstituted internal disciplinary committee comprises Derek O'Brien, leader of the Trinamool Congressional Parliamentary Party in the Rajya Sabha; his Rajya Sabha colleague Dola Sen; party legislators Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Asima Patra; and former Rajya Sabha member Subhasish Chakraborty. The decision was formalised at a meeting of the party's national working committee held at Mamata Banerjee's residence in Kalighat, South Kolkata, on Saturday afternoon.
Notable Exclusions
Two former ministers from Mamata Banerjee's previous state cabinet — Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas — who featured in the earlier disciplinary committee, have been dropped from the reconstituted panel. While Hakim continues as a party legislator, Biswas was defeated in the recent assembly polls, making his exclusion particularly significant.
Background: From Three Committees to One
In November 2024, Trinamool had set up three separate internal disciplinary committees — one at the parliamentary level, one at the West Bengal Assembly level, and a third at the party level. However, the current wave of defections and resignations has hollowed out those structures, with several members having since joined what observers are calling the rebel camp. Mamata Banerjee has now consolidated this into a single, slimmed-down committee of just five members — a structural acknowledgement of the party's current turbulence.
Other Decisions at the Working Committee Meeting
At the same Saturday meeting, the party also decided to induct Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque into the national working committee, expanding its composition even as the disciplinary body was pruned.
What Observers Are Saying
Political observers have reportedly expressed doubts about the longevity of the new committee in its present form, given the pace at which heavyweight Trinamool legislators have been stepping back from party roles. The reconstitution, critics argue, is as much a response to an ongoing internal crisis as it is a routine administrative exercise. Whether this restructuring stabilises the party or merely reflects its fragmentation will likely become clearer in the weeks ahead.
Point of View
Not merely tidying its org chart. The deeper question mainstream coverage is underplaying is whether a disciplinary committee can function credibly when the very crisis it is meant to address — mass resignations from party posts — remains unresolved. Trinamool has historically centralised power around Mamata Banerjee herself; this restructuring doubles down on that instinct at precisely the moment when the party may need broader coalition-building to stem the exodus.
NationPress
21 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Mamata Banerjee reconstitute the Trinamool Congress disciplinary committee?
Mamata Banerjee reconstituted the committee on 20 June in response to a series of resignations by senior Trinamool leaders from organisational posts, which had hollowed out the earlier three-tiered structure formed in November 2024. The new single five-member panel is seen as an attempt to reassert internal discipline amid the party's ongoing factional turbulence.
Who are the members of the new TMC internal disciplinary committee?
The five members are Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen (both Rajya Sabha members), party legislators Sovandeb Chattopadhyay and Asima Patra, and former Rajya Sabha member Subhasish Chakraborty.
Why were Firhad Hakim and Aroop Biswas dropped from the committee?
Both former ministers were part of the earlier disciplinary committee but have been excluded from the reconstituted panel. Aroop Biswas was defeated in the recent polls, while Firhad Hakim, though still a legislator, was not included — a move political observers consider significant given his long association with the party leadership.
What was the earlier disciplinary structure that has now been replaced?
In November 2024, Trinamool had created three separate internal disciplinary committees — one at the parliamentary level, one at the West Bengal Assembly level, and one at the party level. With many of those members having since joined the rebel camp, the party has now merged all three into a single five-member committee.
What other decision was taken at the 20 June working committee meeting?
At the same meeting, the party decided to induct Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque into Trinamool Congress's national working committee, expanding that body's membership alongside the disciplinary restructuring.
