TMC crisis: Trinamool says Cong merger reports ‘baseless’; Rahul Gandhi, Abhishek Banerjee discuss next INDIA meet

TMC crisis LIVE: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, asked about a TMC-Congress merger, told ANI, “I have no information about any merger or such things involving Bengal.” "If a formal decision is reached, we will certainly be taken into confidence. If I am asked about it, then I will speak, but right now, I know absolutely nothing."

TMC crisis LIVE: On the internal strife in TMC, BJP leader Khagen Murmu says, "There is no one left in the TMC; the party is finished. The TMC once harboured an arrogance, an attempt to capture everything and in doing so, they destroyed Bengal, ushering in a 'Jungle Raj' there. Today, the public has delivered a decisive verdict in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party, effectively ending that arrogance and those past ambitions. You can see that the Trinamool Congress is withering away day by day and is headed for total collapse; eventually, only two people will remain in the party—Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee—and no one else"

TMC crisis LIVE: On the TMC MP Sushmita Dev's resignation, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, "These people rush wherever they see an opportunity. Being the daughter of a prominent Congress leader, she had connections everywhere; leveraging that, she switched sides... What is there to say about such opportunists? They can go anywhere." (ANI)

TMC crisis LIVE: The next India bloc meeting is to be held in Hyderabad, HT has found.

TMC crisis LIVE: During their meeting in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee also discussed ways for the two parties to work together on common issues and deliberated on preparations for the next INDIA bloc meeting, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad.

TMC crisis LIVE: Top-ranking TMC sources on Wednesday dismissed reports of merger talks with the Congress as "baseless", claiming that there was no proposal for the Trinamool Congress to merge with the grand old party. Sources indicated that both sides have kept the door open for a possible alliance and greater coordination within the INDIA bloc.

TMC crisis LIVE: Rebel Trinamool leader Ritabrata Banerjee says, "People are thinking about resigning because of the situation within the party. In Parliament, especially in the Rajya Sabha, there are certain individuals trying to run the organisation like a circus. I have always said that under Abhishek Banerjee’s organisational leadership, there is more conflict than unity within the party. But we are not circus animals. As far as I know, following Sushmita Dev’s resignation, several others are also likely to resign. More than two-thirds of the Lok Sabha MPs have reportedly decided to form a separate bloc against the authoritarian style functioning in the party. We may have differences with the decisions being taken by some members of the legislative party, but anyone raising their voice against dictatorship and in favour of democracy deserves support..."

TMC crisis LIVE: TMC MP Satabdi Roy asserted that the rebel camp's strength was growing, claiming it had already secured the support of more than two-thirds of the party's legislators. She also said the number of MPs joining their faction was increasing. (PTI)

TMC crisis LIVE: Amid speculation about a possible merger between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress, senior TMC leaders on Wednesday told HT that the report were “baseless”.

The rumours gained traction after TMC chief Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, followed by a meeting between TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi. Sources said the discussions focused on opposition unity within the INDIA bloc and coordinating against the BJP. The clarification comes as the TMC grapples with a major internal rebellion following its defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, with a large section of its MLAs and several MPs seeking to break away from the party.

TMC crisis LIVE: BJP MP Raju Bista took a swipe at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee amid speculation over the TMC's future, saying that if the party were to merge with the Congress, it would reflect a major failure on her part rather than a "homecoming". He argued that Banerjee, who left the Congress to form the Trinamool Congress, would be effectively surrendering to the Congress ideology, adding that a party founded on the slogan "Ma, Mati, Manush" would lose its distinct identity by returning to the parent party. (ANI)

TMC crisis LIVE: TMC MP Mahua Moitra said, “Trinamool is Mamata & Mamata is Trinamool . Let the Kakoli Congress & Ritabrata Congress merge with BJP.” Watch the full interview with HT here.

TMC crisis LIVE: Mamata Banerjee has returned home in Kalighat in Kolkata a day after the CID searched it.

TMC crisis LIVE: Leader of Opposition Ritabrata Banerjee dismissed speculation about the Trinamool Congress merging with the Congress. “TMC is not merging with the Congress. We have the support of 64 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly,” he said, as per PTI.

TMC crisis LIVE: Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said he has no information about the recent meetings between Congress and TMC leaders or any possible political realignment in West Bengal. “What exactly is being discussed during these meetings? How could I say from the outside? I am not an astrologer, after all,” he told ANI. Chowdhury added, “I have no information about any merger or such things involving Bengal... I am completely in the dark.” Taking a swipe at the TMC, he said, “Regarding the TMC party, you can all see that the party has been scattered, the senior leaders of the party are running around... For so long, they never felt the need to meet with Congress party leaders. Now, however, they feel that perhaps they should.”

TMC crisis LIVE: TMC supremo and former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee arrives at Kolkata airport after high-profile meetings in Delhi.

TMC crisis LIVE: Saayoni Ghosh, a prominent TMC leader and Jadavpur MP, is learnt to have joined the party's rebel camp. Although Ghosh has not publicly confirmed this, sources indicated she may have aligned with the dissident faction.

A former actor who emerged as a prominent anti-BJP voice during the West Bengal election campaign, Ghosh had drawn national attention for invoking the phrase “Mere dil mein hai Kaaba, aur mere aankhon mein Madina” during a rally -- a remark that sparked political controversy and accusations of appeasement from BJP leaders. TMC defended it as a message of communal harmony.

TMC crisis LIVE: Sushmita Dev met Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and submitted her resignation letter, thanking him, the Deputy Chairman and Rajya Sabha Secretariat officials for their support during her tenure in the Upper House. Dev is the second TMC Rajya Sabha MP to resign this week after Sukhendu Sekhar Ray stepped down from both the party and the Rajya Sabha. "I convey my sincere gratitude to your excellency, hon'ble deputy chairman and all functionaries of the Rajya Sabha secretariat extending all help and cooperation during my tenure as a member of the Rajya Sabha," Dev said in the letter to the Chairman.

TMC crisis LIVE: Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan has accepted the resignation of Sushmita Dev from the Upper House. (PTI)

TMC crisis LIVE: Abhishek Banerjee met Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday as the Trinamool Congress grapples with an escalating internal crisis, as per ANI. The meeting follows Mamata Banerjee's discussion with Sonia Gandhi a day earlier.

TMC crisis LIVE: The crisis within Trinamool Congress has exposed a major contradiction: while a rebel bloc of 58 MLAs led by Ritabrata Banerjee has positioned itself as a "constructive opposition" to the BJP in the West Bengal Assembly, a separate group of around 20 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has moved closer to the BJP-led NDA at the national level. The twin rebellions have left Mamata Banerjee increasingly isolated within her own party.

TMC crisis LIVE: Sukhendu Sekhar Ray earier resigned from the Rajya Sabha and the primary membership of the Trinamool Congress. He blamed the party's Assembly election defeat on what he described as "15-year anarchical rule" under Mamata Banerjee. His exit adds to the mounting crisis within the TMC, coming amid reports of a possible split and a rebellion by around 20 Lok Sabha MPs.

TMC crisis LIVE: Sushmita Dev rejected allegations of opportunism, saying, "BJP and Congress are national parties, but currently, I am not in any party. How can I decide which party I will go to? It will be the decision of the parties." She added, "Today, if you are commenting on someone, you might be in the same situation later. There is nothing as opportunistic in politics." Dev was previously with Congress before joining TMC in 2021. Her father, Santosh Mohan Dev, was a Union Minister in the UPA-I government. (ANI)

TMC crisis LIVE: Sushmita Dev, after quitting the TMC, was asked if she would join the BJP. She said, “When I take a decision I will let you know,” PTI reported.

“It’s my individual decision, what kind of politics I want to do and who should be my leader. I have my reasons and that’s why I have taken my decision,” she added. Dev also said her resignation was due to personal and political reasons, and added, “everyone has the right to change their mind, and to decide what kind of politics they want to do.”