TMC's Kunal Ghosh says he wants to quit party posts, slams MP Sudip Bandopadhyay

Kolkata: Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who has been vocal about next-generation leaders being given more prominence in the party, on Friday said he wants to resign from all posts and slammed a section of old guards in the party for being hand-in-glove with the BJP.

Ghosh, who holds the post of TMC spokesperson and state general secretary, said he feels he is a misfit within the system, but rubbished rumours of him joining any other party.

"I don't want to stay in the post of state general secretary and spokesperson. I am a misfit in the system. I am unable to continue like this. I am a soldier of the party and will continue to work for the party. Please stop this rumour that I am planning to join another party," he posted on X.

Later on, while speaking to a Bengali news channel, Ghosh slammed a section of senior party leaders for insulting him and behaving as if it was a 'fiefdom of few leaders'.

"They are behaving as if TMC is a fiefdom of few leaders. In North Kolkata, we have Sudip Bandopadhyay who is more of a BJP leader than a TMC MP. He is behaving like another Shajahan Sheikh. He is soft towards the BJP because of corruption cases, which are being probed by the BJP," he said.

Shajahan Sheikh, a former TMC leader, is one of the key accused in the Sandeshkhali case.

'Across West Bengal, TMC is fighting against the BJP in 41 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. But in North Kolkata, it is BJP versus BJP as Sudip Bandopadhyay is hand-in-glove with the saffron camp,' he said.

Bandopadhyay was unavailable for comment.

Ghosh, considered close to Abhishek, said last year that the old guard needs to know when to step aside for the next generation.

Following this, Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee herself cracked the whip and issued a stern warning instructing party leaders to abstain from publicly discussing differences, emphasising that any violation may lead to disciplinary action.

The controversy erupted in November when Banerjee advocated for respecting senior members and dismissed the notion that old leaders should retire from active politics.

TMC national general secretary and Banerjee's nephew, Abhishek, endorsed a retirement age in politics and cited a decline in work efficiency and productivity with advancing age.

The party appears divided on the issue, with senior leaders not willing to embrace the maximum age limit theory proposed by Abhishek, and the youth brigade seeking more space in the party.

This ongoing controversy recalls a two-year-old internal struggle within the TMC between the old guard and the younger faction.

In January 2022, amidst rumours of an alleged power struggle, Mamata Banerjee dissolved all national office-bearer committees, including the post of National General Secretary held by her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

Subsequently, a new committee was formed, and Abhishek was reinstated as the party's National General Secretary.

Since then, Abhishek has not only gained prominence within the party, but is also considered the de facto number two in the state's ruling dispensation.