Kolkata | A meeting between senior TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Union Minister Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi on Saturday sparked fresh political speculation amid turmoil within the party, raising questions on whether the veteran MP could join the dissident group seeking recognition as a separate parliamentary faction.
Bandyopadhyay, accompanied by rebel TMC MP Shatabdi Roy, reached the BJP leader's Motilal Nehru Marg residence in the afternoon, where they held the meeting.
The development comes amid dissident TMC MPs stating they will meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday to seek recognition as the "real TMC", following the party's electoral drubbing in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls.
Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Barma Basunia on Friday claimed that 19 of the party's 28 Lok Sabha members were already backing the faction.
The leader of the rebel faction, Kakoli Ghosh Dasdidar, has declared the bloc, once recognised, would offer support to the BJP-led NDA in Parliament.
Political observers view the Bandyopadhyay-Yadav meeting as important not merely because of the individuals involved but also because of the wider context in which it occurred.
A Lok Sabha MP from the prestigious Kolkata Uttar seat, Bandyopadhyay, remains one of the most senior parliamentarians in the TMC and has long been regarded as a key bridge between the party leadership and Delhi's political establishment.
Any engagement between him and a senior BJP strategist is therefore likely to be closely scrutinised for signals regarding the future course of West Bengal politics, especially in terms of the political future of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in the state.
A group of 64 of the 80 MLAs of TMC has already broken away from the party in the state Assembly and has secured the recognition of Speaker Rathindra Bose, with the leader of the dissident faction, Ritabrata Banerjee, being named as the Leader of Opposition.
That recognition, however, has been challenged by the Mamata-led faction before the Calcutta High Court, which continues to hear the case.
Reacting sharply to Bandyopadhyay's move, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said it was on account of the Kolkata Uttar MP's "lust for power and position" that the TMC lost several important leaders to the BJP.
"Able leaders like Tapas Roy and Sajal Ghosh left the party because of Sudip da's personal insecurities and his lust for power and position within the party. I was suspended earlier from the party for speaking against him and in favour of senior leaders like Tapas da. Let the leadership realise now what kind of person they supported before," Ghosh said.
While Roy has been named the industries minister in the newly-formed Suvendu Adhikari cabinet, Sajal Ghosh is an MLA from Baranagar in north Kolkata, where he defeated TMC's high-profile candidate and actor Sayantika Banerjee in the Assembly polls.
"Earlier this week, when the CID raided the premises housing Mamata Banerjee's residence, I received a call from Sudip da, asking where I was. When I told him I was already at Didi's place, he said his wife, Nayna (a TMC MLA), would be reaching the spot soon. I waited, but she never came. Instead, Sudip da has now reached the BJP's doorstep," Ghosh said sarcastically.
BJP minister Tapas Roy called Bandyopadhyay and Shatabdi Roy a "liability" for the TMC.
"To save themselves, they have always aligned with those in power. They have contributed neither to the public nor to any political party. Mamata Banerjee is now realising who truly stands by her. For the sake of such individuals, many genuine political workers were insulted and sidelined. Whatever is happening is for the best," Roy told reporters.
