Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, long regarded as one of party Chairperson Mamata Banerjee's closest confidantes, has once again broken ranks with the party leadership — a pattern that, on closer examination, has defined his political career for over two decades. His sudden appearance in New Delhi and open rebellion against the TMC hierarchy on 14 June has drawn national attention, but insiders say it is far from unprecedented.

A Loyalist Who Has Tested Limits Before

Bandyopadhyay's relationship with Mamata Banerjee stretches back to her days in the Indian National Congress (Congress), and he was among the handful of senior leaders who walked out with her when she founded the Trinamool Congress in 1998. That founding loyalty gave him a privileged position in her inner circle — one that survived multiple storms.

The first major rupture came in September 2003, when Mamata had him temporarily expelled from the party after he met then Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Bandyopadhyay maintained the meeting was to formally thank the Union government for allocating funds toward the restoration of Swami Vivekananda's birthplace. Mamata, however, reportedly interpreted the visit as an attempt to secure a Cabinet berth, triggering a political storm within the party.

Notably, the two leaders were at the time allocated official quarters on the same floor at Baba Khadak Singh Marg in Delhi — so close that, with doors open, one could see across the corridor into the other apartment. The friction eventually forced Bandyopadhyay to relocate. But not permanently.

Reconciliation, CBI Arrest, and Mamata's Defence

The two reconciled, and Bandyopadhyay was appointed Minister of State in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government under then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — a period that coincided with Mamata's second exit from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and her alliance with the UPA.

When the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Bandyopadhyay in 2017 in connection with the alleged Rose Valley scam, Mamata publicly backed him, calling the arrest 'vendetta politics'. The party also pointed to his active participation in protests against alleged corruption and the then demonetisation drive as evidence of his commitment to the TMC's positions.

The Abhishek Factor and the Sidelining of Seniors

The most recent and arguably the most consequential source of tension has been the rise of Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata's nephew and now widely considered the party's heir apparent. According to party insiders, Abhishek was reportedly opposed to septuagenarian leaders contesting elections — a position that directly threatened Bandyopadhyay, who is in his seventies.

Abhishek also replaced Bandyopadhyay as the TMC's leader in the Lok Sabha, with the move attributed to concerns over the senior leader's health. Sources suggest Bandyopadhyay was far from pleased, but chose to bide his time — a hallmark of his political style. Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he reportedly succeeded in persuading Mamata to override her nephew's purported preference for keeping older candidates out of the contest, allowing at least two other sitting TMC parliamentarians in their seventies to remain in the fray. Abhishek, according to insiders, did not take that outcome lightly.

The Exit of Mukul Roy and a Shifting Equation

Bandyopadhyay's proximity to Mamata was further reinforced after the exit of Mukul Roy, once considered her right-hand man and the de facto number two in the TMC. Roy's departure left a vacuum in the party's inner circle that Bandyopadhyay, for a period, appeared to fill. But Abhishek Banerjee's consolidation of influence within the party fundamentally altered those dynamics.

Insiders describe Bandyopadhyay as a 'polite face' in a party not always known for subtlety — a politician who understood when to speak and, more crucially, when not to. That patience, observers say, may have finally run its course. Whether his latest move marks a permanent break or another chapter in a long cycle of friction and reconciliation remains to be seen.