After the Trinamool Congress (TMC) suffered a massive defeat in the West Bengal assembly elections, party supremo Mamata Banerjee appealed to the candidates who fought the polls to rebuild the organisation, while asserting that those who want to leave the party are free to do so. In a meeting with the contesting candidates of TMC at her Kalighat residence on Friday, the former chief minister said that the organisation will rise again. The meeting was also attended by the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. “Those who are leaving for other parties, let them go. I will rebuild the party afresh. To those who are staying, I say rebuild the damaged party offices, paint them and reopen them. If needed, I too will paint them. Trinamool Congress will never bow down. People’s mandate has been looted,” Banerjee was quoted as saying by party sources. The remarks came in the aftermath of the TMC’s crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, which pushed the party from power to the opposition benches after years in government. Out of the 294 seats in the Assembly, the TMC secured victory in just 80 constituencies. Party chief Mamata Banerjee also lost from Bhabanipur, a seat widely regarded as her political stronghold. Also Read: Mamata Banerjee Appears In Calcutta HC In Lawyer’s Gown To Argue Bengal Post-Poll Violence The TMC had contested 291 seats, while its ally, the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM), led by Anit Thapa, fought in three seats in the Darjeeling hills. Of the TMC candidates, 211 were defeated, including several senior leaders and ministers. The gathering at Kalighat took place amid growing unease within the party and speculation that some leaders could defect following the poll setback. The discussions mirrored Banerjee’s comments made shortly after the election results were announced on May 5, when she acknowledged that certain leaders might leave the party in the wake of the defeat. “I know many will leave for other parties. They may have their own compulsions. I have nothing to say about that. Whoever wants to go may go. I do not believe in forcibly holding anyone back,” Mamata had said. The official X handle of TMC later shared photographs of the meeting and praised the contesting candidates for fighting during the election campaign. “Today, our Hon’ble Chairperson @MamataOfficial and our Hon’ble National General Secretary @abhishekaitc met with our contesting candidates at Kalighat. They fought with unmatched courage despite facing unimaginable atrocities and relentless intimidation. The Trinamool Congress stands united as one family. We will never bow before those who loot the people’s mandate. Truth will prevail,” the party posted on X on Friday. The post echoed the party’s allegation that the election verdict had been manipulated, an assertion repeatedly made by several TMC leaders since the results were declared. According to sources within the party, Banerjee sought to rally defeated candidates during the meeting and project a sense of cohesion at a time when the organisation is grappling with one of its toughest political setbacks.