Explosion in TMC, split in NCP and Congress’ question: Why ‘homecoming’ cannot be answered. india news

New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Not merging with Congress. For now this is the final one. Both parties have strongly rejected the merger speculations, dismissing them as “baseless rumors” and “fake news”.But before that the speculation started a larger and far more interesting political debate: Should leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, who broke away from the Congress decades ago to decide their political direction, consider returning to the grand old party to strengthen the opposition’s fight against the BJP?Merger talks gained momentum when Mamata Banerjee met Sonia Gandhi and later her nephew and political successor Abhishek Banerjee had a long meeting with Rahul Gandhi. These meetings took place in the backdrop of an unprecedented crisis within the Trinamool Congress after its crushing defeat in the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

For the first time, deep cracks were visible in the impregnable fortress of TMC. Mamata Banerjee, who ruled Bengal for 15 years and appeared invincible until recently, was reduced to just 80 seats in the assembly as the BJP formed its first government in the state. But his shock did not end with the election results. Many newly elected MLAs and some close associates of Mamata Banerjee rebelled against the party and joined BJP. Much of the anger within the TMC was directed at Abhishek Banerjee, with a section of older leaders accusing the leadership of sidelining those who spent years building the party. The decline of the Trinamool Congress was so rapid that the once invincible Mamata Banerjee, who had been ignoring the Congress for the last 15 years, was forced to turn to the grand old party for help. It is the exact plight of Mamata Banerjee that has led to suggestions from some quarters that the Trinamool chief, who formed the party after breaking away from the Congress in 1998, should consider a “homecoming”. And this suggestion was not only for Mamata, but also for leaders like Sharad Pawar. Pawar, who formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 1999, faced a similar challenge after his party split. Pawar eventually lost control of the NCP name and its iconic clock symbol to the faction led by his nephew, the late Ajit Pawar.There is another leader facing challenges like Mamta Uddhav Thackeray. Uddhav, who lost control over Shiv Sena following the rebellion of his party MLAs, is now grappling with fresh speculations of further defection amid reports of “Operation Tiger”. There are reports that 6 of their 9 MPs are in touch with Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion against Uddhav and is now the Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.Together these stories point to a broader reality: many regional parties that once seemed dominant in their respective states are facing an increasingly assertive BJP that has not only defeated them but is also profiting from their decline.It is this background that has revived an idea that seemed impossible a few years ago.

‘Homecoming’ debate

The Ghar Wapsi debate was initiated by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, who argued that parties born out of the Congress should reunite with the parent organization to strengthen the opposition against the BJP.

The Sena (UBT) leader went a step further and urged Sharad Pawar to take the lead in bringing together the parties that emerged after their split from the Congress.Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot supported the idea, saying “the time has come”, while Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole argued that leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar are increasingly recognizing the need for a strong Congress to counter the BJP.

At first glance, the argument appears compelling. BJP has emerged as a major force in the country. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first came to power in 2014, the BJP was in power in just seven states. With victories in West Bengal and Assam, the BJP-led NDA is now ruling 22 states and union territories. Work on opposition unity continues. Many regional parties are weaker today than they were a few years ago.But before asking whether former Congressional children should return home, it is fair to ask why they left in the first place.

Why did the Congress children leave?

Mamata Banerjee did not leave Congress due to ideological differences. She walked out in 1998 because she believed the party had become unable to defeat the Left Front in West Bengal. Frustrated with the Congress high command and convinced that Bengal needed a more aggressive opposition, he founded the Trinamool Congress.

This step bore fruit. In 2011, by ending the 34-year rule of the Left Front in West Bengal, Mamata accomplished what the Congress had failed to do for decades.Sharad Pawar’s exit happened under different circumstances. In 1999, Pawar, PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar challenged Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin and subsequently formed the Nationalist Congress Party. While the NCP remained ideologically close to the Congress and often governed alongside it, Pawar succeeded in carving out an independent political identity rooted in Maharashtra.YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s departure was motivated by succession politics. After the death of his father, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Jagan felt sidelined by the Congress leadership and eventually formed the YSR Congress Party. Within a few years the YSRCP replaced the Congress in Andhra Pradesh.There were different factors behind their exit, but each believed that they had a better chance outside the Congress than inside.In most cases, they were right.

What has changed now?

What has changed is not Congress. This is the rapid rise of BJP.When Mamata Banerjee left the Congress in 1998 and Sharad Pawar joined her in 1999, the BJP was nowhere as effective as it is today. Regional parties developed by occupying the political space left by the weakening Congress.Today many of the same parties are facing a completely different challenge.Over the past decade, the BJP has expanded beyond its traditional Hindi belt, ending the BJD’s 24-year rule in Odisha, conquering West Bengal and making steady inroads in areas where it was once considered weak. The result is that regional parties that once primarily competed with the Congress are increasingly battling the BJP for voters, leaders, organizational networks and political relevance.Rahul Verma, political scientist and fellow at the New Delhi-based think-tank Center for Policy Research (CPR), says the Congress reunification is not without precedent. Leaders who had defected from the party in the past, including Pranab Mukherjee and those associated with organizations such as Tamil Maanila Congress and Tiwari Congress, eventually returned to the parent organization.However, Verma argues that today’s political context is fundamentally different. “At that time, the Congress was still a strong force and was in a position to form the government at the national level. Some of these leaders could have been accommodated in the party and the government. The problem today is that when you are talking about parties like TMC, YSRCP and NCP, the Congress itself is a very small player in states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and even in Maharashtra it is not particularly strong,” he told TOI.While the merger could benefit both parties in the medium term, given that all three parties face electoral headwinds, Verma raised questions about how practical such an arrangement would be. He said, “The Congress does not have much to offer beyond party positions. Leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Jagan Mohan Reddy have built successful independent political careers outside the Congress. The practicality and feasibility of how this adjustment will work remains a question.”

Why might merger not be practical?

Although the idea of ​​homecoming sounds grand, its actual implementation on the ground may be neither easy nor practical.Consider this: If Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar return to the Congress, would they be willing to work under the leadership structure of Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge after running independent parties for decades?Will his supporters accept such a change?Will party workers who have been fighting each other for years suddenly become allies overnight?For example, it would be virtually impossible to see Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress in West Bengal working closely with Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. Those who have followed Adhir’s politics would know that the entire politics of the former West Bengal Congress president has been centered around opposition to Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress.Many of these parties made their mark by establishing themselves as alternatives to the Congress. Returning to the party risks undermining the identity that helped propel them forward.Doesn’t India Block already serve that purpose?

If opposition parties are already working together under the India Bloc umbrella, what additional benefit does a formal merger provide?Congress, TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and many other parties already coordinate on national issues and parliamentary strategy while maintaining their individual identities.If the objective is to counter the BJP, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are proof that opposition unity does not require a merger.Congress, TMC, DMK, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), Samajwadi Party and many other parties fought under the banner of India Bloc while maintaining their separate identities. Together, they significantly reduced the BJP’s numbers from its 2019 peak and deprived it of a majority on its own. The alliance came under pressure only when the electoral battle reached states where political rivalry between opposition parties rocked the boat. That problem is not likely to disappear just because the party headquarters has taken the decision to merge.

Will Congress benefit from the merger?

The merger experiment may also provide good light and attractive headlines, but will it help the Congress revive electorally? Probably not. Neither Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal nor Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra now wield the kind of political influence they used to have. Both leaders are grappling with challenges that would have been difficult to imagine at the peak of their careers. The last assembly elections in Maharashtra showed that Sharad Pawar’s influence is decreasing in the state. The veteran leader had to struggle to exert influence even in his stronghold Baramati. Similarly, in West Bengal, Mamata is battling a major electoral defeat and a growing internal crisis within the TMC.Meanwhile, Congress needs more than high-profile leaders. This requires strong state-level organisations, local leadership and grassroots level workers.

Anti-BJP alliance is better than merger!

Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar and Jagan Mohan Reddy became political giants because they proved that they could survive and thrive outside the Congress system. He did not need Congress. He built his empire on the basis of strong regional pride and his distinctive leadership style.There is no doubt that the rise of the BJP has made opposition unity more important than ever. But unity does not mean merger. In fact, the experience of the India Bloc suggests that opposition parties can work together against the BJP while maintaining their separate identities and leadership structures.Perhaps this is the more practical way forward. The Congress and its former leaders may find themselves cooperating more closely in the coming years, but a formal return to the parent party appears highly unlikely.For leaders like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar, revival may depend less on returning to the Congress and more on returning to the streets, rebuilding their organizations and reconnecting with voters.After all, that’s how they became powerful in the first place.