The rise and fall of Mamata Banerjee and Trinamool’s future

"Chirodin Kaharo Soman Nahi Jay," Kazi Nazrul Islam once wrote. And since art imitates real life, the fall of former Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee in 2026 has been as dramatic as her rise. 

In a historic verdict, the Bharatiya Janata Party stormed to power in West Bengal for the first time, winning 206 of the 293 assembly seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) collapsed to 81 seats, a steep fall from its 215-seat dominance in 2021.

The scale of the defeat was mirrored in the popular mandate, with turnout crossing 92%, signalling an electorate deeply invested in change. And Didi, as Banerjee is fondly known, herself lost at her traditional bastion of Bhabanipur, to her former lieutenant-turned-adversary Suvendu Adhikari by 15,144 votes — a contest that encapsulated the broader collapse of her political edifice. 

Her defeat to BJP does not merely mark a change of government in West Bengal. It closes a chapter that began in the restless campuses and turbulent streets of the 1970s, when a young woman first forged the persona that would define her for decades: that of a street fighter who refused to yield.

There is a certain symmetry in the political life of Mamata Banerjee. She rose by dismantling a system she portrayed as distant, coercive and morally fatigued. Fifteen years later, she fell to an opponent who used remarkably similar language to describe her own rule. 

In that arc lies one of the most compelling political journeys in contemporary India, shaped by agitation, personality, welfare politics, and ultimately, the burdens of incumbency.

The making of a street fighter

To understand Mamata Banerjee's politics is to understand performance as much as ideology. Her image was never crafted in think tanks or party offices. She was always into street fights, physical confrontations. As a student activist aligned with the Congress, she embraced a politics of physical assertion.

As a young student leader in the 1970s, Banerjee staged a dramatic protest against the veteran socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan when he visited Kolkata to organise a movement against Indira Gandhi before the 1975 Emergency. 

During the demonstration, she threw herself on the ground to block his convoy and then jumped onto the hood of Narayan's car. Witnesses and historical accounts often describe her dancing on the car to prevent it from advancing.

This act of defiance brought her to the national limelight for the first time. While it earned her some notoriety and ridicule from critics at the time, it also established her niche in Congress politics as a combative and angry leader who was willing to use physical, high-octave tactics to challenge political giants. 

Through the 1980s and 1990s, this kinetic style became her signature. She was assaulted during rallies, notably sustaining a severe head injury in an attack widely attributed to cadres of the then ruling Left Front in 1990. 

The 1993 protest at the Writers' Building (West Bengal's state secretariat) was a pivotal moment in Mamata Banerjee's career. On 21 July 1993, Mamata Banerjee, then a rising leader in the state Youth Congress, led a massive march to the Writers' Building. The primary demand was that photo voter ID cards be made mandatory to ensure fair elections. 

Police opened fire on the protesters, resulting in the deaths of 13 Congress workers. Banerjee herself was physically hauled out and thrown out of the secretariat by police for protesting in front of then-Chief Minister Jyoti Basu's office. She was also injured during the day's violence. The incident earned her immense sympathy from the masses, helping her build a loyal base of supporters who saw her as a leader willing to risk her life for the cause. 

Following this incident and her growing dissatisfaction with Congress leadership — whom she accused of being a "stooge" of the CPI(M) — Banerjee broke away to found the Trinamool Congress in 1997.

Banerjee's street fighter image rested on three pillars. 

First, accessibility. Her austere lifestyle, simple cotton sharis, and refusal to adopt the trappings of power made her appear proximate to the masses. 

Second, defiance. She consistently positioned herself as someone willing to physically confront authority. 

Third, moral framing. Each agitation was cast not merely as political opposition, but as a struggle between justice and oppression.

This combination allowed her to bypass the limitations of organisational weakness. Even when her party lacked structure, her persona provided cohesion.

Rising through movements

Unlike many regional leaders who rose through party hierarchies, Banerjee's ascent was movement-driven. Her break from the Congress in 1997 and the formation of the All India Trinamool Congress was itself an act of rebellion. She accused the Congress of capitulating to the communists and positioned her new party as the only authentic opposition.

In its early years, the Trinamool Congress was less a party than an extension of her personality. It thrived on agitation. Protests in Keshpur and Garbeta against alleged atrocities by Left Front cadres helped her consolidate a reputation as a defender of the politically persecuted. She crafted a narrative in which the Left Front, despite its ideological claims, had become authoritarian and disconnected.

Her politics was not ideologically rigid. She allied with the BJP at the national level when expedient, even serving as railway minister. But in Bengal, her positioning remained consistent. She was the insurgent, challenging a 34-year-old regime that seemed immovable.

Singur and Nandigram: The crucible of transformation

If there is a single turning point in Banerjee's career, it lies in the twin agitations of Singur and Nandigram between 2006 and 2007. These movements transformed her from a regional disruptor into a mass leader with national resonance.

In Singur, the Left Front government sought to acquire fertile agricultural land for a Tata Motors factory. Banerjee framed the issue not as industrialisation versus stagnation, but as coercion versus consent. Her prolonged hunger strike, lasting nearly a month, became a spectacle of endurance and moral appeal. When the Tata Nano project eventually relocated to Gujarat, she claimed victory not just over a policy, but over an idea of development imposed from above.

Nandigram was even more consequential. Protests against a proposed chemical hub escalated into violent clashes. The police firing that killed 14 villagers became a defining moment. Banerjee seized upon it as evidence of state brutality. The images and narratives that emerged from Nandigram shattered the Left's carefully cultivated image as a pro-poor regime.

Together, Singur and Nandigram allowed Banerjee to appropriate the very vocabulary that had once belonged to the Left. 'Land, rights, dignity'. She turned these into instruments against her opponents.

Toppling the Left fortress

By the time of the 2011 assembly elections, the ground had shifted. The Left Front, once seen as ideologically anchored and administratively competent, appeared fatigued. Banerjee's slogan "Maa, Mati, Manush" distilled her message into an emotional triad that resonated across class and community lines.

Her alliance with the Congress ensured a consolidation of anti-Left votes. More importantly, she succeeded in drawing support from constituencies that had long been loyal to the communists, including sections of the rural poor and minority communities.

The result was historic. The Left's 34-year rule ended. Banerjee, the perennial outsider, became chief minister.

Consolidation through welfare and control

In power, Banerjee displayed a different kind of political acumen. If her rise had been chaotic, her consolidation was methodical. She built an expansive welfare architecture aimed at creating a durable support base. Schemes such as Kanyashree, Sabuj Sathi, and Lakshmir Bhandar targeted women, students and low-income households.

At the same time, she centralised authority. Decision-making increasingly revolved around the chief minister's office. The party and the government became intertwined. This ensured coherence, but also concentrated power in ways that would later attract criticism.

Her electoral victories in 2016 and 2021 suggested that the model was working. Even as the BJP began to expand in Bengal, she managed to retain a formidable coalition.

The good, the bad, and the controversial

Banerjee's 15-year tenure cannot be reduced to a single narrative. It was marked by tangible achievements and persistent criticisms.

On the positive side, her government improved rural connectivity and expanded social safety nets. Welfare delivery became more efficient, and women emerged as a key political constituency.

However, economic growth remained uneven. Industrial investment lagged, partly due to the lingering perception that Bengal was hostile to large capital. Unemployment, especially among the youth, became a growing concern.

Her leadership style drew scrutiny. Critics pointed to an authoritarian streak, arguing that dissent was often met with intolerance. Her responses to certain crises were seen as dismissive, reinforcing perceptions of insularity.

The descent into notoriety

To understand Mamata Banerjee's politics is to understand performance as much as ideology. Her image was never crafted in think tanks or party offices. She was always into street fights, physical confrontations. As a student activist aligned with the Congress, she embraced a politics of physical assertion.

Over time, the Trinamool Congress's image began to shift. Allegations of corruption played a significant role in this transformation. The school recruitment scam, in particular, struck a nerve. It touched upon the deeply held belief in merit and fairness among the Bengali middle class. The idea that jobs could be bought undermined the moral legitimacy of the government.

Political violence further eroded the party's image. The 2018 panchayat elections, marked by widespread allegations of rigging and uncontested victories, raised questions about democratic processes under TMC rule.

The rise of local strongmen, often operating with perceived impunity, contributed to a sense that the party had become what it once opposed.

BJP's rise from the margins

When Banerjee came to power in 2011, the BJP was a marginal force in Bengal. Its transformation into the principal challenger within a decade is one of the most striking developments in the state's politics.

BJP's growth was driven by multiple factors. It capitalised on religious polarisation, particularly around issues of migration and identity. It also attracted defectors from the TMC, including influential leaders who brought organisational networks with them.

Perhaps most importantly, it positioned itself as the only viable alternative. As the Left and Congress declined, the political contest became bipolar. This benefited the BJP, which could consolidate anti-incumbency sentiment.

A national machine against a regional force

The 2026 election was not an ordinary contest. It was an all-out campaign by the BJP, leveraging its organisational strength, financial resources, and central leadership.

The election was framed as a referendum on corruption and governance. The "Pisi-Bhaipo" narrative, targeting Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, sought to portray the government as nepotistic.

The BJP also replicated elements of Banerjee's own strategy from 2011. It used local faces like Suvendu Adhikari to lead the charge, exploited governance failures as rallying points, and promised expanded welfare benefits to undercut the TMC's base.

Controversies such as the large-scale revision of electoral rolls under SIR which removed 9.1 million voters from the list added another layer of conflict, with the TMC alleging disenfranchisement and the BJP defending the process as necessary reform.

The eventual result was decisive. The BJP's victory marked the end of 15 years of TMC rule. Several factors converged. Anti-incumbency had accumulated over time. Corruption scandals had eroded trust. Governance failures, including high-profile incidents that triggered public outrage, amplified discontent.

Crucially, segments of her core support base appeared to shift. Women, once seen as her most loyal constituency, showed signs of disillusionment. The middle class, alienated by issues of merit and governance, moved away.

The narrative of the street fighter had lost its resonance. In its place was a perception of a leader insulated by power.

What next for the Trinamool Congress?

The future of the Trinamool Congress now hangs in the balance. History offers two contrasting possibilities. It could follow the trajectory of the Congress or the CPI(M), slipping into prolonged decline. Or it could reinvent itself and mount a comeback.

Much depends on leadership transition. Abhishek Banerjee has emerged as a central figure within the party. His organisational control and attempts at generational renewal suggest a pathway for rebuilding.

Yet structural challenges remain. The erosion of the personality cult around Mamata Banerjee raises questions about the party's identity. Can it evolve beyond a leader-centric model?

Equally important is the political landscape. With the BJP now entrenched, the space for opposition is limited. Whoever comes to the power of West Bengal tends to stay for a long time. The TMC must quickly reclaim relevance or risk marginalisation.