In a major organisation reshuffle for the Trinamool Congress, the West Bengal ruling party removed 25 district presidents and district chairpersons on Friday (May 16, 2025). The party abolished the post of district presidents in Birbhum and Kolkata (Uttar), where the complaints of infghting had been the maximum.
Anubrata Mondal, with whom the party had stood over the past few years, including during his custody by central investigation agencies, was dropped as the Birbhum district president of the Trinamool Congress. The party abolished the post altogether in the district, opting instead for a nine-member core committee, handpicked by party chairperson Mamata Banerjee, to oversee the organisation. Asish Banerjee, Deputy Speaker in the State Assembly and MLA, has been appointed chairperson of the Birbhum district core committee.
Sudip Bandopadhyay, senior Trinamool Congress MP from Kolkata Uttar, has been removed as the organisational district president of Kolkata (Uttar). Instead, the organisational affairs of Kolkata (Uttar) will now be handled by a nine-member core committee. Mr. Bandopadhyay has been appointed chairperson of the district. Samar Mukherjee, senior party leader and MLA from Malda, has been dropped as district president and included as a vice-president of the party. Changes have also been made in Murshidabad district, which witnessed communal violence last month, with Abu Taher Khan being dropped as district president.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that new district presidents will be appointed by the party at the Martyrs’ Day rally on July 21, 2025. Mitali Bag, the newly appointed MP from the Arambag Lok Sabha seat, was appointed district chairperson of Hooghly (Arambag). Ms. Bag, who represents a Scheduled Caste, started her political career as a panchayat member in 2013, and her rise in the party’s organisation is being considered significant.
The Trinamool Congress has 35 organisational districts, and in some places, such as the Darjeeling plains and North 24 Parganas (Barasat), district presidents have not yet been announced.
The reshuffle, spanning several districts, is being viewed as Ms. Banerjee’s attempt to impose greater discipline and reduce factionalism within the party. The reorganisation is also seen as a balancing act to accommodate both the old guard and younger members. The development assumes significance as it comes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls in the State.
Published – May 18, 2025 12:10 am IST
