To silence me, you would have to kill me: Mamata’s fresh message to BJP as TMC crisis deepens

Mangalore Today News Network

Kolkata, Jul 10, 2026: Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting the party leaders, including Lok Sabha MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Mahua Moitra, and Kalyan Banerjee. She declared that the ruling party would have to “kill her if it wanted to silence her."

In a video message, Banerjee opened up about the recent rebellion and growing existential crisis in the Trinamool in the aftermath of a bruising defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Election. Taking a veiled dig at those who broke away from the party, she extended “best wishes" to those who didn’t “betray it by defecting to the BJP“.

Accusing the BJP of leaving no stone unturned in attempts to intimidate TMC leaders, she said: “To silence me, you would have to kill me. Yes, you didn’t spare any effort on that".

Banerjee further targeted the BJP as she alleged harassment of her party’s leaders. “Whom haven’t you assaulted? You attacked Mahua, Abhishek, Kalyan. You attacked my home", she said.

‘BJP Came To Power By Looting Votes’

Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP –– that saw a sweeping victory in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly Election –– came to power by “looting votes" and “rigging the process of SIR (Special Intensive Revision)".

“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.

These remarks unfolded against the backdrop of an internal crisis within the TMC, triggered by a wave of high-profile defections in both the Assembly and Parliament after the party’s crushing defeat in the election.

After the declaration of poll 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 (LoP) in the state assembly.

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

While many leaders voiced opposition against the TMC’s leadership, especially Abhishek Banerjee, several alleged corruption within the party.

3 TMC MPs Join BJP

Days after quitting the TMC, three Rajya Sabha MPs –– Sukhendu Shekhar Ray, Sushmita Dev, and Prakash Chik Baraik –– joined the BJP on Thursday. Hours later, they were named candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha bypolls scheduled for July 24.

The BJP’s Central Election Committee announced their names for the bypolls after the three leaders joined the party at its Salt Lake office in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya and other senior leaders.