Identity crisis for Trinamool: Is the party merging with its roots?

As high-profile exits shake the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee is pivoting back to basics. Instead of chasing star power, the party supremo banks on her nameless, faceless grassroots foot-soldiers. These quiet workers have been grinding behind the scenes for decades, many tracing their loyalty back to Mamata’s original days in the Congress.

However, this tactical retreat to the old guard has sparked an existential debate. Insiders note that with the recent exodus of big names, the party’s core structure is increasingly comprised of veteran Congress loyalists. If the machinery keeping the TMC afloat is essentially the old Bengal Congress under a different banner, it raises a glaring question: What is the point of a separate party altogether?