Hunter Becomes the Hunted: BJP Uses Mamata Banerjee’s Own Political Script Against TMC

Kolkata | June 4, 2026 Once considered politically invincible in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee now finds herself trapped in a crisis that threatens the very survival of her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC). In a dramatic political reversal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alongside a powerful rebel faction within the TMC, appears to have used Mamata’s own political strategy against her — and with astonishing speed.

Just weeks after the 2026 West Bengal Assembly election results, the TMC is facing one of the deepest internal rebellions in its history. Political observers say the methods Mamata Banerjee once used to dismantle the Left Front and weaken Congress in Bengal are now being employed against her own party.

A Party on the Brink The signs of trouble became evident after a massive rebellion erupted within the TMC legislative wing. A faction led by senior leader Ritabrata Banerjee reportedly claimed support from 60 out of the party’s 80 MLAs, effectively challenging the authority of Mamata Banerjee and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.

The rebel camp submitted a letter to the Assembly Speaker naming Ritabrata Banerjee as the Leader of Opposition, sidelining the official leadership choices backed by Abhishek Banerjee. The move exposed growing resentment within the party, particularly against what many leaders describe as “nephew-centric politics.”

The ‘Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed’ Formula Returns

Political observers point to the ancient political strategy of “Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed” — persuasion, incentives, punishment, and division — to explain the TMC’s current predicament.

Mamata Banerjee once used persuasion to weaken the Left’s ideological hold, incentives to attract rival leaders, pressure tactics to consolidate political control, and strategic divisions to break opposition strongholds.

Now, critics argue, those same tactics are being turned against her.

BJP and rebel leaders have reportedly convinced TMC MLAs that the party under Mamata no longer offers political stability. With fears of investigations, internal factionalism, and uncertainty over leadership, several legislators are said to be backing a new power equation. The Biggest Political Irony

In 2011, Mamata Banerjee ended the Left Front’s 34-year rule through relentless political mobilization and strategic expansion. Fifteen years later, history appears to have taken a dramatic turn.

The irony is difficult to ignore — the same political blueprint that helped Mamata dismantle rivals may now be accelerating the weakening of her own party.

While Mamata took years to politically marginalize the Left and Congress, BJP and dissident TMC leaders appear to have created a major rupture within just weeks of the 2026 election results.

For Mamata Banerjee, the challenge ahead may be her toughest yet: saving a fractured party while confronting rebellion from within.