Nearly 37 Trinamool Congress councillors of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) skipped a crucial party meeting convened by All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday, 22 May, laying bare deepening internal fissures in the wake of the party's landslide defeat in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections. The boycott signals that dissent within the TMC's civic wing is no longer simmering quietly — it is now openly visible.

What Happened at the Meeting

The TMC currently holds a commanding majority in the KMC board with 137 councillors. However, according to a councillor who attended the meeting on strict condition of anonymity, only 100 councillors were present at the Friday afternoon session. Among the notable absentees was KMC Member Mayor-in-Council (MMIC) Debasish Kumar, who was defeated from the Rashbehari Assembly constituency in South Kolkata in the recent polls.

Banerjee reportedly urged those present not to be demoralised by what she described as non-cooperation from the KMC's bureaucratic machinery. 'She asked the present party councillors not to get scared, but to protest and continue doing their work to the best of their ability,' the attending councillor said.

The Abhishek Banerjee Property Notice Row

The meeting came amid a charged backdrop: the KMC has issued successive notices over the last seven days to 17 properties owned or co-owned by TMC General Secretary and Lok Sabha member Abhishek Banerjee, who is also Mamata Banerjee's nephew. The properties include his residence on Harish Mukherjee Road in South Kolkata, situated close to Mamata Banerjee's own home in Kalighat.

Abhishek Banerjee issued his first public response to the notices on Friday afternoon, deflecting responsibility back to the civic authority. 'The KMC authorities should specify which portions of the building were illegal. Those who are asking me these questions should first ask this question to the KMC authorities. If the KMC replies, I will give my clarification. Let them mark the portions of the building that were constructed illegally. Thereafter, I will give my clarifications,' he said.

The Wider Political Context

The councillor absenteeism and the property notice row together reflect a party navigating an unfamiliar post-defeat landscape. The TMC's loss in the West Bengal Assembly elections has visibly altered the balance of power within the corporation, with the KMC bureaucracy reportedly less responsive to elected TMC representatives — including Mayor Firhad Hakim — than it was before the electoral reversal.

Notably, this is not the first sign of strain: the party has faced questions over internal discipline since poll results emerged, and the public notices against a senior leader's properties add an institutional dimension to what was previously a factional dispute.

What to Watch Next

Whether the absent councillors face any disciplinary action from the party leadership will be a key indicator of how firmly Mamata Banerjee can reassert control over the civic wing. The KMC's next move on Abhishek Banerjee's properties — and his formal response — will also test how far institutional pressure on the TMC's second-most powerful figure is allowed to proceed.