Mamata Banerjee Calls for United Opposition Movement as Suvendu Adhikari Takes Office
Speaking from her residence in Kalighat on Saturday, May 9, 2026—the same day Adhikari took his oath at the Brigade Parade Ground—Banerjee addressed a gathering marking Rabindra Jayanti. She urged all opposition forces, including the Left, ultra-left, and national parties, to put aside their ideological differences and unite on a single platform against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Alleging that the state has entered an era of "state-sponsored terror and suppression," the former Chief Minister emphasized that the current political climate necessitates a collective front to protect the democratic fabric of Bengal.
The TMC leader further claimed that her party faced administrative hurdles even in organizing cultural programs like Rabindra Jayanti, which she cited as evidence of the new administration's restrictive nature. However, her call for unity was met with skepticism from other opposition quarters. CPM State Secretary Mohammed Salim was quick to dismiss the proposal, ridiculing the TMC's sudden interest in "unity" only after being ousted from power. This political maneuvering follows the historic May 4 election results, where the BJP secured a landslide victory with 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, reducing the TMC to just 80 seats. Despite the defeat, Banerjee signaled that she has no intention of retreating, instead positioning herself as the primary architect of a renewed resistance movement aimed at reclaiming the state's political narrative from the "double-engine" government now in power.
