Mahua Moitra Praises BJP's Suvendu Adhikari Amid TMC's Internal Turmoil

Kolkata: TMC leader and MP Mahua Moitra has praised BJP leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, saying she has always shared a deep personal bond with him despite currently being on opposite sides of the political divide. She made the remarks in an interview with the BBC. Moitra recalled that Suvendu was the only one who had consoled her when she was emotionally devastated after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket in 2014, and that he was also the only one who had come to campaign for her when she first contested the Assembly election from Karimpur in 2016.

Although the two no longer speak to each other since switching parties, she said, she could never forget the political support and help he had extended to her at the time.

Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress is facing a massive internal collapse following its Assembly election defeat. A rebel camp led by Ritabrata Banerjee, opposing Mamata Banerjee's leadership, is pressing ahead with efforts to seize control of the party. The rebels have removed Mamata from the post of chairperson and stripped her nephew Abhishek Banerjee of his position as national general secretary. They have also approached the Election Commission seeking control of the party's name and symbol, claiming the support of 60 of the party's 80 MLAs. Senior leaders who were once among Mamata's closest confidants, including Arup Biswas and Firhad Hakim, have already joined the rebel camp. The TMC has also suffered a major setback after 20 of its Lok Sabha MPs merged with the Nationalist Citizens' Party of India (NCPI), which supports the ruling BJP in Parliament.

Amid this political upheaval, Mahua Moitra described the departure of what she called "useless baggage" from the party following the election defeat as a form of "purification" for the TMC. She said she was grateful to Suvendu and the BJP for being behind this, mocking that Mamata had, until now, been carrying leaders incapable of winning on their own merit.

She pointed out that the BJP, with its clear Hindutva ideology and strong cadre-based structure, is not a party dependent on a single individual. Moitra dismissed rumours that the TMC would merge with the Congress, adding that the party is, ideologically, closer to the Congress. While there is no clear indication at present that Moitra plans to leave the party, political circles are watching her remarks closely given the changed political landscape in West Bengal.