&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'ED didn't scare us': Madan Mitra rejects agency fear behind leaving TMC, cites this reason")
Senior legislator Madan Mitra, who joined the rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee on Wednesday, dismissed allegations that his decision to leave the Trinamool Congress (TMC) was driven by fear of central agencies, stressing that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) played no role in his political shift.
"The ED didn't scare us. They didn't call or threaten us... Why mix politics with the ED? My decision was purely based on the political landscape," Mitra said, as quoted by ANI.
Mitra, who was considered one of the closest aides of former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and had been with the TMC since its inception in 1998, joined the rebel faction in the Assembly just a day after the Enforcement Directorate sent summons to his wife and two sons.
The Kamarhati MLA attributed his decision to quit the TMC to disillusionment with the party leadership's ability to take on the ruling BJP and hailed the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
“From this moment I resign from the national working committee, the post of chief whip in the assembly and the post of general secretary of Mamata Banerjee’s TMC. I was in the TMC, and I remain there. I am only changing rooms,” Mitra said after joining the rebel group.
"I felt that to defeat the BJP, we needed to put in more effort than the way the Trinamool was operating from Kalighat. I wanted to support this new, assertive Trinamool... She chased me away. So I left too," Mitra stated, in an apparent reference to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee.
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"There is no doubt that considering Suvendu Adhikari's strength and vigour at his age, it would be very difficult to find a leader across the country capable of taking him on," Mitra added.
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TMC grapples with a fresh wave of defections after poll rout
The TMC has witnessed multiple defections of its MPs and MLAs following its disastrous showing in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections, which ended its 15-year rule in the state. The BJP secured a landslide victory, winning 208 of the 294 Assembly seats.
With Mitra's defection, the rebel faction now has 60 of the TMC's original 80 MLAs, while the Mamata Banerjee faction is left with 20. The rebel camp, which was formed after 58 MLAs signed a letter to the Speaker, however, claims to have the support of at least 65 legislators but has not published their names so far.
Meanwhile, reacting to the defections, Mamata Banerjee asked leaders planning to quit the party to do so before the TMC's July 21 Martyrs' Day rally, maintaining that the departures would not weaken the organisation.
Her remarks came hours after TMC Rajya Sabha MP and actor Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel Mallick, resigned and met Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
"Today, I saw that another MP, who is also a respected and talented film artist, met a BJP leader and resigned. I respect her as an artist. For everyone's information, she had already sent her resignation by email, and I thank her for personally submitting it today," Banerjee said.
