Mamata Banerjee Leads Kolkata Protests Amid TMC Internal Turmoil

Following a landslide defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Mamata Banerjee led a series of sit-in protests in Kolkata on June 2 and 3, 2026. The demonstrations, centered at the Esplanade Y-channel and Rani Rashmoni Avenue, targeted alleged post-poll violence, the Railways' hawker eviction drive, and NEET examination irregularities. Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of rigging the counting process in 177 of 294 seats and using police machinery to intimidate opposition leaders.

The protests were sparked by alleged attacks on TMC leaders, including National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who reported injuries from bricks and stones in South 24 Parganas, and MP Kalyan Banerjee, who claimed he survived an attempt on his life in Hooghly. While five individuals were arrested in connection with the Abhishek Banerjee attack, BJP leaders Rahul Sinha and Samik Bhattacharya dismissed the events as staged or orchestrated by TMC workers.

Simultaneously, the All India Trinamool Congress is facing internal instability. The party expelled MLAs Sandipan Saha and Ritabrata Banerjee for anti-party activities after they raised concerns over forged signatures regarding the appointment of the Assembly's Leader of the Opposition. While some reports suggest up to 50 MLAs are forming a dissident faction, TMC leader Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay denied the scale of the rebellion. In response to the turmoil, Banerjee announced that anti-BJP parties would meet in Delhi the following week to coordinate a national opposition strategy via the INDIA bloc.