The festering internal turmoil in the Trinamool Congress (TMC) finally came to a head, with party MP Kalyan Banerjee theatrically quitting as Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha on Monday. His resignation was largely interpreted as the direct result of his increasingly publicised feud with TMC MP Mahua Moitra.
Banerjee resigned just days after a virtual conference of TMC MPs, presided over by party leader Mamata Banerjee. “I have quit as Chief Whip of TMC in Lok Sabha because ‘Didi’ (Mamata Banerjee) mentioned in the virtual meeting that there is no coordination among TMC MPs and the fault for it lies squarely on me. That’s why I have left the position,” Banerjee said.
A Timeline Of The Kalyan vs. Mahua Feud
The feud between Kalyan Banerjee and Mahua Moitra has been of long duration and in the public eye, with both leaders having criticised each other openly on several occasions.
Early Skirmishes: The clash has its roots deep in the past, with earlier incidents including alleged objectionable comments made by Kalyan Banerjee against Moitra at a TMC function in Delhi. This resulted in Moitra threatening to lodge a police complaint, although the issue was later defused by a senior party MP. Moitra had also complained that she was denied adequate speaking time during Lok Sabha sessions, blaming Banerjee, a complaint that reportedly was turned down by the party high command then.
June 2025: Kolkata Law College Rape Case: The public altercation further escalated in June 2025 over their conflicting positions on the Kolkata Law College rape case. Moitra condemned Banerjee’s remark on the case through an X (formerly Twitter) post, which incensed Banerjee.
“Honeymoon” and “Anti-Woman” Insults: Banerjee personally attacked Moitra by saying, “Mahua has come back to India from her honeymoon and started quarreling with me immediately. She calls me anti-woman; what is she? She destroyed a 40-year-old marriage and wed a man of 65 years old, did she not injure a woman?” This remark addressed Moitra’s recent marriage to erstwhile BJD MP and senior advocate Pinaki Mishra in Berlin, photos of which had gone viral on social media.
“Pig and Frustrated Man”: The latest wordy salvo was fired after a podcast interview in which Mahua Moitra came down heavily on Kalyan Banerjee. Countering his “honeymoon” remark, Moitra remarked, “You can’t grapple with a pig, because a pig enjoys mud and you end up dirty. There are grossly misogynistic, sexually frustrated, corrupt men in India, and there are such individuals in all parties in Parliament.”
Banerjee’s Retaliation: Banerjee quickly reacted to Moitra’s comments. “I have recently observed the personal remarks made by Mahua Moitra in a podcast. Her word choice, including the deployment of dehumanizing terms such as comparing one’s fellow MP to a ‘pig,’ is not just unfortunate but also reflects a fundamental lack of respect for the minimum norms of civilized debate,” he countered.
Mamata Banerjee’s Intervention and Party Challenges
The continuous online war of words between the two senior MPs has attracted the ire of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee. She called a virtual meeting of the party’s Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, where she voiced strong discontent over party factionalism and the absence of coordination within the party, though she did not mention anyone by name. Mamata Banerjee tasked her MPs with uniting as one against the central government and focusing on the party’s credibility.
Regardless of the call for unity by the party leader, Kalyan Banerjee’s resignation is a pointer to the extent of the gulf. He blamed the absence of coordination among MPs on himself, going as far as charging some MPs with poor attendance in the House for which he felt unjustifiably censured.
This internal battle poses a huge challenge for the TMC leadership. Kalyan Banerjee, a four-time MP and seasoned leader with key party posts, stands on one side. Mahua Moitra, a two-time MP and incendiary leader recognized by her acerbic diatribes against political rivals in Parliament, stands on the other side.
