In effect, Kalyan has driven the TMC into a corner by telling its leader in no uncertain terms: you have to pick one. This comes at a time of open dissent, with a tussle in the courts over what are said to be doctored MLA signatures and a number of high-profile departures from the top table.
A power struggle spills into court
According to Kalyan, the flashpoint was when his role as counsel for Abhishek’s plea against the state CID was abruptly called off. The Calcutta High Court was left to deal with it after the agency made a show of force at the Diamond Harbour MP’s office, and the friction only grew from there.
Kalyan, who had put in the work for an urgent hearing, says he was left in the lurch. “I was in front of a vacation bench on Friday,” he says, “and then at 12.30 I’m told a new writ and a senior lawyer will be handling it.”
He sees it as a sign of things to come. He was on hand when they were going through Abhishek’s place on Camac Street and Didi’s office, and in his eyes, the whole exercise was unlawful and needed to be put under a microscope by the judiciary.
Why the ultimatum matters for TMC
The old hand at both law and politics has made it plain he won’t be representing Abhishek any longer. He puts the blame for the in-fighting and the way some of the older guard have been treated squarely on the general secretary’s arrogance.
“I’ve been at this for 45 years,” Kalyan says. “I am a senior in the field and in the party.” He thinks the way Abhishek has been about his business is what is tearing the party apart, and that he has been marginalising those with more experience.
He even goes so far as to say the TMC's loss in the 2026 West Bengal Election is on Abhishek’s head. His message to Mamata is simple: if you’re going to be tied to him, then let me go. But if you and he part, I am with you.
Internal exits intensify pressure
All of this is happening while the party is reeling from a round of walkouts from the Rajya Sabha. When TMC MP Prakash Chik Baraik put in his resignation on Thursday, he was only the third to do so in as many days, following in the wake of Sushmita Dev and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray.
In short:
– Abhishek won’t have Kalyan in court for him.
– He is calling on Mamata to make a choice.
– The onus for the mess the party is in, he says, is on Abhishek.
– And the resignations in the Upper House keep piling up.
All this comings and goings has given some the impression of a party in disarray. Kalyan has been content to let those who make for the door be, but with him now making an example of Abhishek, the leadership is being put on the spot and it could give some of the more recalcitrant old-timers ideas.
The case behind the split
Abhishek has gone to the Calcutta High Court for cover from the CID, which is looking into what it says is a forgery of some of the party’s MLAs’ signatures. It all stems from a tiff over a resolution to put Ballygunge’s Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay in as opposition leader, filed by two of their own.
Kalyan told Justice Kaushik Chanda there was no time to lose, after the fact of the raids. He is of the view the whole search was without warrant. “It was not done in a way that was either in step with us or with any respect,” he put it.
To Kalyan, this is just one instance of a certain kind of leadership. In no uncertain terms, he said Abhishek has a way of putting himself above everyone else, like they are all just cogs in the machine down at Camac Street.
I have had a word with Derek O’Brien, but as of when I was talking, Mamata had not been in touch, Kalyan said. He is still on for the rest of the TMC and its people, but not for Abhishek. “He is not Trinamool Congress,” he said.
Mamata Banerjee has to make a move. If she is seen to be in Abhishek’s corner, she may have to say goodbye to an old hand; but if she puts some distance between them, it could ruffle the feathers of the new guard.
Then there is the law. With the CID and the High Court in the mix, the story can change in an instant. Now that Kalyan is off the case, you can expect the TMC's legal approach to be a bit different.
For the workers on the ground, it is another in a series of high-profile exits to add to the unease. Should others of Kalyan’s stature start to voice similar concerns, the party will have to deal with a reshuffling of power before some very important fights.
Where we go from here
For the moment, the line has been drawn in the sand. What happens next – whether things get put right or the break is made final – will be what defines the TMC going forward.
