'To Silence Me, You'd Have To Kill Me': Mamata Hits Out At BJP Amid Rebellion Crisis

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief  and Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting senior leaders of her party, including Lok Sabha MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra and Kalyan Banerjee, and said the ruling party would have to 'kill' her if it wanted to silence her.

In a video message, Banerjee also alleged that the BJP came to power in West Bengal by “looting votes" and “rigging the process of SIR (Special Intensive Revision)" during the 2026 Assembly Election.

“They seized counting centres using central forces and hijacked them. Despite this, we decided that we would let the new government assume office. The truth would eventually came to light as we, too, possess the evidence", she said.

Banerjee further accused the BJP of harassing leaders of her party. “Whom haven’t you assaulted? You attacked Mahua, Abhishek, Kalyan. You attacked my home", she added.

Crisis After Poll Defeat

Mamata's remarks came amid an internal crisis in the party following its crushing defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Election and a series of defections from the party in both the Assembly and Parliament.

Referring to the rebellion within the party, Banerjee took a veiled swipe at leaders who left the TMC and extended “best wishes" to those who did not “betray it by defecting to the BJP“.

After the declaration of the election results, a large group of MLAs broke away from the TMC under the leadership of expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee and backed him for the post of Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly.

Soon afterwards, a group of Trinamool MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, declaring support for the BJP-led NDA at the Centre. They later joined the Tripura-based Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), an ally of the NDA.

Several leaders who opposed the TMC leadership, particularly Abhishek Banerjee, also alleged corruption within the party.

The defections continued on Thursday, with Rajya Sabha MPs Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik joining the BJP.

Hours later, the BJP's Central Election Committee announced the three leaders as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha bypolls scheduled for July 24.