TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar steps down from all party posts amid leadership discontent

KOLKATA: Lok Sabha MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar resigned from all organisational posts of the Trinamool Congress on Wednesday, days after publicly expressing her disappointment with the party leadership.Her decision came a day after she attended chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s administrative review meeting in Kalyani, despite alleged party instructions asking her not to participate.Dastidar served as the national president of the TMC’s women’s wing and was associated with the party’s “Banga Janani” programme.In a letter addressed to TMC state president Subrata Bakshi, the four-time Barasat MP resigned from all organisational responsibilities in the party, sources said.They said she has informed the party that she would no longer be able to continue in these roles.The development is likely to intensify speculation over the evolving dynamics within the TMC, following its electoral setback and a series of public expressions of dissatisfaction by some leaders.The MP had recently been vocal about her discontent with sections of the party leadership.On Sunday, Dastidar announced her resignation as president of the TMC’s Barasat organisational district unit. The party accepted her resignation the following day and appointed Tapas Chatterjee as the new chief.After Monday’s administrative review meeting, Adhikari claimed that the TMC MP had told him she had “finally got freedom”, a remark that further fuelled political buzz around her presence at the event.The TMC leadership has not yet issued any official comment on the latest development.(With agency inputs)