Trinamool factions, Congress plan show of strength in Kolkata on Martyrs’ Day

The stage is set for Martrys’ Day rallies on Tuesday (July 21, 2026), which has emerged as an opportunity for non-Left Opposition parties in West Bengal to flex their political muscle for the first time since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in the State almost two months ago. 

With the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the throes of a crisis, the occasion is an opportunity for the party’s two factions — the first led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the rebel group led by Ritabrata Banerjee — to rally their supporters in a public display. 

Ms. Mamata Banerjee visited the venue in front of Birla Planetarium where her faction is arranging a meeting. Mr. Ritabrata Banerjee made a similar visit to the venue on Mayo Road where his rebel Trinamool group is arranging a gathering. The Congress is also making preparations for the meeting it is organising.

Each group claims to be the “original” flagbearer of Martyrs’ Day. Senior leaders of all three political groupings have been trying to pull in crowds for a show of strength. All three meetings have been arranged within a 3 km radius. Their internal power struggles have prevented the consolidation of the Opposition.

On July 21, 1993, the police under the then Left government opened fired on protesters, killing 13 and injuring about a 100 people. They were demanding Voter IDs be made the sole mandatory card for elections. Ms. Banerjee was leading the march as a rising youth Congress leader at the time.  

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has released a report which says the previous Trinamool government did not take any action against the perpetrators of the violence, and instead rewarded some of them.

“Mamata Banerjee will remember the martyrs and will show us the way forward for the coming days,” Kunal Ghosh, MLA in Ms. Banerjee’s faction, said. Anyone rivalling the Trinamool’s event on Tuesday (July 21, 2026) would be honouring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and not the martyrs, he added.

The rebel Trinamool faction has claimed that the 13 martyrs’ families will likely be present on their stage. “All of us who could have been martyrs on that day (July 21, 1993) will be here on this stage,” Firhad Hakim, formerly a close confidant of Ms. Banerjee and now a member of the rival group, said.

Ms. Mamata Banerjee showcased her political strength annually on this day. Politicians and intellectuals rallied around her on Martyrs’ Day in the heart of Kolkata after she came to power. Thousands would gather around the stage at the Esplanade’s iconic Victoria House venue to get a glimpse of the Trinamool chairperson.

This year, Ms. Banerjee cautioned her supporters to not be misled by the police, and ensure they joined the meeting of her group in front of the Birla Planetarium.