Martyrs’ Day 2026 turns out to be show of political strength for rival Trinamool factions in West Bengal

The annual Martyrs’ Day observance on July 21 this year is set to become a show of strength for rival factions of the Trinamool Congress. With less than 48 hours to go, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction and the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction are giving finishing touches to their respective rallies.

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Several leaders of the Ritabrata Banerjee faction, including Arup Roy, whom the group has nominated as the party chairperson, visited Mayo Road and took stock of preparations. Former Ministers Chandrima Bhattacharya, Aroop Biswas and Firhad Hakim were also present at the venue. The leaders said that they would offer sombre respect to the martyrs and there would be no “song and dance" as was prevalent when Trinamool Congress was in power.

Former Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee will visit the venue of her rally in front of the Birla Planetarium in Kolkata’s Maidan area on Monday (July 20, 2026). While Ms. Banerjee used to address supporters outside Victoria House till last year, this time the administration has denied permission to any political group to hold a rally at the site. The Calcutta High Court has permitted the Mamata Banerjee group to hold its gathering outside the Birla Planetarium.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, who, along with 19 other party Lok Sabha MPs, has merged with the little-known Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), said on Sunday (July 19) the faction would observe Martyrs’ Day at Rajghat in New Delhi. Dr. Ghosh Dastidar asked as to why Manish Gupta, who was the Chief Secretary of West Bengal in 1993 when police opened fire on Youth Congress activists, was made a Minister during the Trinamool Congress regime.

The background

Martyrs’ Day or Shaheed Divas is observed every year in West Bengal to commemorate the 13 Youth Congress workers killed in police firing on July 21, 1993, during the Left Front regime. Ms. Banerjee, then a Congress leader, had organised a march to the Writers’ Building (the State Secretariat during the Left regime), demanding that voter identity cards be made the sole mandatory document for voting. The protest turned violent, and the police opened fire leaving 13 dead.

West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhankar Sarkar also questioned why Manish Gupta was “rewarded by the Mamata Banerjee government instead of being held accountable”. Mr. Sarkar said several Congress leaders would attend the party’s gathering on July 21.

Show of strength

The rallies are likely to be a show of strength for all competing political groupings. While the Ritabrata Banerjee group has the support of the majority of Trinamool MLAs, it remains to be seen how the people accept the formation. The Congress, whose vote share in West Bengal has been around 5%, and is hoping for a revival, will have to make sure to bring people out of their homes to hear Mr. Sarkar and other Congress leaders speak on July 21.

The rally will also be a litmus test for Ms. Banerjee’s ability to mobilise crowds after the Trinamool Congress lost the 2026 Assembly polls and was later hit by rebellion within the party.