TMC Turmoil: MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar Resigns from District Post, Blames I-PAC and Internal 'Criminalisation' After Poll Rout

Kolkata / New Delhi: A massive internal rift has erupted within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) following its crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections. Senior leader and four-time Barasat MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar has officially resigned from her post as the party's Barasat Organisational District President.  

Her resignation follows her abrupt removal as the TMC's chief whip in the Lok Sabha, where she was replaced by senior MP Kalyan Banerjee. Tendering her resignation to TMC State President Subrata Bakshi, Dastidar launched a stinging, public attack against the election strategy firm I-PAC and the rising culture of corruption within the party's lower ranks.  

Key Highlights of the Resignation & Shocking Allegations:

• Taking Moral Responsibility: Dastidar stated she is stepping down after the party lost five out of seven assembly seats under her Barasat Lok Sabha constituency.  

• Scathing Attack on I-PAC: The veteran leader did not hold back against the political consultancy firm, labeling them a "fly-by-night organisation". She alleged that young I-PAC staffers misbehaved with full-time grassroots party workers and warned that the agency's high-pressure tactics would yield "dangerous results" wherever they go.  

• Admitting to 'Criminalisation' & Corruption: In a blunt admission that has shaken the party, Dastidar stated that corruption and criminalisation have spread across lower levels of the party (panchayats and municipalities), alienating the public.  

• Message to Mamata Banerjee: Dastidar urged party supremo Mamata Banerjee to ditch external corporate agencies and return to the party's roots, relying on old, loyal, and honest party cadres to restore the TMC's image.