A light-hearted exchange between Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Kalyan Banerjee and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has drawn attention after the two leaders traded political jibes over a photograph showing several leaders who had changed political parties.
The conversation took place when the reporter asked Kalyan Banerjee about the photograph.
“What is this?” the reporter asked.
Banerjee said in response to the question: “This is a picture of 20 traitors. They left Mamata Banerjee.”
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra then joined the exchange and replied with a counterpoint.
“Kalyan Ji, they first left our party to join the TMC, and then they moved from your party to the NDA,” she said, laughing.
Banerjee replied by questioning the Congress’s electoral strength in West Bengal.
“No, they did not win on a Congress ticket. Congress has no votes in West Bengal,” he said.
BIG BREAKING 🚨 Kalyan Banerjee and Priyanka Vadra taunt each Other.
— News Algebra (@NewsAlgebraIND) July 30, 2026
REPORTER : What is this?
KALYAN : This is a picture of 20 traitors, they left Mamata Banerjee.
PRIYANKA : Kalyan Ji, They first left our party to join TMC, and then they moved from your party to NDA 😅… pic.twitter.com/fqMeSa0rCs
As a joke and an informal one, the exchange was humorous, but it also showed the complex political relationship between TMC and Congress in West Bengal.
The two parties have often worked together as part of larger opposition alliances at the national level but remain political foes in the state. Their cooperation has often involved cooperation on some issues and sharp disagreements on others.
Banerjee’s reference to the leaders as “traitors” was aimed at those who had left the TMC and later joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Party defections have still been a big part of West Bengal politics, with leaders moving between TMC, Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other political parties.
Priyanka Gandhi's answer highlighted another aspect of the political history of the leaders depicted in the photograph. Her comment suggested that some of them had moved from the Congress to the TMC first and eventually into the NDA.
The exchange also highlighted changing political loyalties that have governed electoral politics in West Bengal over the years.
Political leaders can also move between parties on the basis of ideological differences, alliances, electoral opportunities, and disagreements with their party leadership. Such changes can influence political equations and lead to accusations of opportunism or betrayal.
Banerjee’s comment that “Congress has no votes in West Bengal” was a political jab and not an official election assessment. The Congress still has an organisational presence and a voter base in parts of the state, but its influence has lessened considerably from its past reign.
West Bengal was once a major political base for the Congress. However, the party’s position changed after the rise of the Left Front and later the TMC under Mamata Banerjee.
The TMC became the dominant political force in the state after ending the Left Front’s long rule in 2011. Since then, the party has remained a central force in West Bengal politics, while the BJP has emerged as its main electoral challenger in several recent elections.
The Congress has continued to campaign and has been contesting elections in the state and has tried to keep itself politically relevant through local organisation and alliances.
Banerjee and Priyanka Gandhi’s interaction demonstrated how political leaders can exchange sharp remarks in a lighter setting. Although the comments were directed at each other’s parties, humour and laughter were mixed in.
The exchange also showed the larger contradictions of opposition politics. At the national level, the TMC and Congress have often shared common positions on several issues and participated in opposition coordination. In West Bengal, however, both parties compete for political space and frequently criticise each other.
The photograph at the centre of the discussion became a symbol of the constant movement of political leaders between parties. The conversation also illustrated how different parties interpret such defections based on their own political interests.
For Banerjee, the leaders were people who had left Mamata Banerjee and the TMC. For Priyanka Gandhi, their political journey started with a departure from the Congress before they joined the TMC and later moved to the NDA.
The viral exchange has attracted reactions on social media, with users sharing clips and comments about the humorous back-and-forth.
Although the conversation was informal, it touched on larger questions of party loyalty, political migration, and the changing balance of power in West Bengal.
The exchange ended with Banerjee’s humorous assertion that the Congress had no votes in the state, while Priyanka Gandhi’s response emphasized the political journeys of leaders who had moved through multiple parties.
That moment proved that political allies can be friendly rivals, particularly when discussing the complex history of party defections and electoral competition in West Bengal.
