Mamata Banerjee

TMC and Tollywood existed in a mutually beneficial relationship for more than a decade. The latter did not merely extend indirect or passive support, but many of its key figures, such as Deepak Adhikari alias Dev, Saayoni Ghosh, Sayantika Banerjee, Kanchan Mullick, Soham Chakraborty, June Malia, Aditi Munshi and Raj Chakraborty formally joined hands with the party as its campaigners, candidates and star symbols.

The Trinamool Congress on Monday, 1st June, expelled two of its MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, after both leaders raised serious allegations regarding forged signatures in a document submitted to the West Bengal Assembly Speaker’s office. The controversy, now widely referred to as the Bengal “signature scandal”, has triggered a major political storm in the state and intensified tensions between the ruling BJP government and Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

In April 2023, Mamata Banerjee had claimed, “Koyekta choto choto ghotona ghote chilo election er por, samanno ghote thake sob jaigai (Some small-time incidents took place after elections. These happen all the time at other places).” 

West Bengal politics currently appears to be at a turning point. The BJP is exuding confidence after its historic victory, while the TMC appears to be teetering between introspection and discontent.