Opinion| Did Trinamool Congress Collapse For Want Of Clear Ideology?

Updated: Jun 16, 2026 22:02 pm IST Published On Jun 16, 2026 21:58 pm IST Last Updated On Jun 16, 2026 22:02 pm IST

Published On Jun 16, 2026 21:58 pm IST

Last Updated On Jun 16, 2026 22:02 pm IST

West Bengal politics continues to shock and surprise every day following the historic electoral upset in May, when the BJP secured a massive victory of 208 seats, ending the 15-year Trinamool Congress rule. The Trinamool has since fragmented. On June 14, 20 of its 28 Lok Sabha MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar rebelled and sought to merge with the NCPI (Nationalist Citizens Party of India) to support the NDA.

Several Rajya Sabha members too have resigned from the Trinamool.

Earlier, soon after the results, around 58 to 60 of the party's 80 MLAs submitted letters to the Assembly Speaker supporting expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee. Reports suggest more than 100 Trinamool councillors left municipal bodies across the state. So, the disintegration is across all levels. 

The dramatic collapse of the Trinamool in West Bengal following the poll defeat has reignited a debate - was the party's collapse inevitable because it never possessed a coherent ideological foundation of its own?

The answer is partly yes, but not entirely. The Trinamool's current crisis appears to be the consequence of a political model built more around cult leadership, welfare populism and anti-Left sentiment than around a durable ideological framework. Such a model can deliver electoral victories for years, but it becomes vulnerable once power is lost. There is also a lesson........

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