TMC removes Kalyan, appoints Kakoli as LS chief whip; Satabdi new deputy leader
Times of India | 6 August 2025
Kolkata: Trinamool on Tuesday removed Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee from the post of its chief whip in Lok Sabha, replacing him with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. The party also appointed Satabdi Roy as its deputy leader in the LS. Kalyan, in a one-line X post, said: "To the Chairperson, thanks for accepting my resignation.
"Much like Kalyan, TMC had also taken to X to announce his removal. The party posted: "Shri Kalyan Banerjee submitted his resignation yesterday to the Chairperson from the post of Chief Whip of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha. The Chairperson has accepted his resignation and thanked him for his contributions in that role.
"The developments follow a 15-minute hybrid meeting between Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and 41 party MPs on Monday, in which the TMC chief chose Abhishek Banerjee to replace ailing veteran Sudip Bandyopadhyay as the party's leader in the LS. The meeting was preceded by a public spat between Kalyan and Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra. Kalyan quit the TMC chief whip's post immediately after the meeting. Significantly, the two appointments made on Tuesday are four-time women MPs, with very different professional backgrounds. Kalyan and Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra's spat was majorly over alleged misogyny.
Within minutes of quitting, however, Kalyan said he had got a call from Abhishek and would be waiting till Thursday "to speak further". However, Kalyan continued attacking Mahua on Tuesday and sources said this angered party leadership.
Merely three hours before his removal, Kalyan had posted on X: "In 2023, I stood by Ms Moitra when she was under fire in Parliament — I did so out of conviction, not compulsion. Today, she repays that support by calling me a misogynist. I owe the nation an apology for defending someone who clearly lacks basic gratitude. Let people see her words for what they are and judge accordingly.
"Kalyan later told TOI: "I have no regrets. The still believe in the issues I raised.
" Mahua, on her part, welcomed Tuesday's appointments.