‘Graft key reason for public discontent with TMC’: Rebel MP Satabdi Roy

NEw new delhi: renegade Trinamool us congress (TMC) MP Satabdi Roy has blamed putrefaction, the growing act upon of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, and what she described as former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s unwillingness to listen to party leaders for the existential crisis engulfing the party after its debacle in the 2026 state assembly elections.In an interview with the Hindustan Times, excerpts of which are being published ahead of the full interview on Sunday, Roy said corruption was the primary reason behind the public’s disenchantment with the party.“There are a hundred other issues, but the main thing is corruption,” Roy said.Her remarks come as the TMC faces one of its biggest internal crises. Several MPs and senior leaders have either quit or joined a rebel camp, publicly expressing dissatisfaction and deepening concerns about the party’s future direction.Asked why Mamata Banerjee continued to win elections despite such issues, Roy said voters had repeatedly hoped things would improve.“Sometimes it’s also like ‘chalo iss baar toh theek ho jayega’ (maybe things will improve this time). Even when you divorce your husband, you give them some time,” she said.Roy used a “marital affair” analogy to suggest that the party’s troubles have been building for some time. “When there is an extra-marital affair in a marriage, then one can’t say they were absolutely in love with each other. There was a vacuum. Similarly, in this situation, it wasn’t like people weren’t fed up with the party and there were no issues that a third person was so easily able to meddle in between and cause a divorce.”Roy also questioned Abhishek Banerjee’s increasing role in party affairs. “If Mamata’s experience and Abhishek’s new and innovative ideas came together, it could have been a very good combination. But unfortunately that did not happen. Mamata Banerjee handed over every decision to Abhishek Banerjee. I think that is wrong because she depends fully on him,” she said.Abhishek Banerjee is widely seen as the party’s second-most powerful leader and Mamata’s political heir. Rebels within the TMC oppose Abhishek, accusing him of a centralised, “arrogant” leadership style, the systemic alienation of the party’s old guard, and an excessive reliance on political consultants like I-PAC for candidate selection and internal decisions.Roy further alleged that Mamata’s leadership style had changed over the years. “Her temperament has changed. When I joined initially, she was available to us. She was very lovable to us. However, power has changed her,” she said.Roy said she was disappointed that the party leadership had made little effort to understand why leaders were leaving. “She doesn’t want to discuss. I expected her to ask why the leaders were leaving,” she said. Drawing a comparison with the Mahabharata character Dhritarashtra, she added, “If you don’t want to see anything, if you don’t want to listen to anything, then you’re Dhritarashtra.”The TMC maintains that the party remains united under Mamata Banerjee’s leadership, rejecting criticism from dissidents. Several leaders, including MPs Babul Supriyo and Shatrughan Sinha, have publicly expressed support for Mamata amid the ongoing turmoil.