Currently the sixth largest party in the Lokh Sabha, the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) is a regional political party in West Bengal, founded and chaired by Mamata Banerjee.

Banerjee, who also the Chief Minister of West Bengal, was originally a member of India’s largest and most powerful political party Indian National Congress but parted ways with it in 1998 and formed the TMC.

An anti-Marxist party, TMC allied with the present main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition in 1999.

Banerjee secured the Ministry of Railways portfolio during the NDA regime but tendered her resignation shortly after splitting with the NDA.

During the 2009 general elections in India, TMC entered into an alliance with the Congress in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition, but it withdrew as its partner in Sept 2012 after a series of economic reforms, including allowing of foreign supermarkets and foreign airlines, introduced by the government.

At present, TMC holds 19 seats in the Lok Sabha and commands a strong presence not only in West Bengal but also in Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, having several MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha of these northeastern states.

The political symbol of the TMC is the “twin flowers in grass”.

— Research and text by Fatema Imani