In a significant development, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday split in West Bengal in a big jolt to Mamata Banerjee after Ritabrata Banerjee became the Leader of Opposition. Ritabrata Banerjee said the TMC legislature party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the party symbol and added that two other MLAs are likely to join them. Banerjee declared Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin, and Seuli Saha are to be deputy leaders of the TMC legislature party.
Will oppose Bengal government policies which are not right: Ritabrata
Ritabrata Banerjee said, "We will oppose Bengal government policies we think are not right, but we won't oppose for the sake of opposing. We request Mamata Banerjee to play the role of chief adviser of the TMC legislature party. We are the real and main opposition in the West Bengal Assembly according to parliamentary norms."
Akhruzzaman, the Raghunathganj MLA, will be the new chief whip of the Ritabrata Banerjee's TMC in the West Bengal Assembly.
We are the real Trinamool, claims Ritabrata
"We are the real Trinamool. We have the support of two-thirds of the MLAs. We will continue to fulfill our duty as the opposition party in West Bengal. I am the Leader of the Opposition. I will not cede even an inch of ground to the BJP," Ritabrata Banerjee said.
Expelled TMC leader Sandipan Saha said, "We have just submitted the letter. The room designated for the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) has been officially allotted. The LoP is currently seated there. It is our desire that Mamata Didi continue to serve as our advisor, offering us her counsel so that we, along with the LoP and the Chief Whip, can effectively steer the party within the Legislative Assembly. The sorry state to which the party has been reduced, in some measure, is a failure on the part of Abhishek Banerjee. After all, if you claim credit when things go well, you must also accept responsibility when things go wrong."
TMC leader Prasun Banerjee said, "Our political struggle against the BJP will continue unabated. Our ideological battle will persist. Furthermore, our cooperation with the government, acting as a responsible opposition wherever such cooperation is required, will also continue. What you are witnessing today is nothing extraordinary. It simply signifies that the majority of the MLAs have collectively elected four leaders who will represent and lead us on the floor of the Assembly. In a parliamentary democracy, it is essential for both the ruling government and the opposition to be present on the floor of the House, to engage in dialogue, and to participate in constructive debates. Therefore, all the MLAs in the Assembly collectively decided to take this step: to elect four leaders to ensure that the legislative proceedings and functioning of the Assembly can move forward."
58 dissident MLAs extend support to Ritabrata Banerjee
The development comes after the rebellion within the TMC took a decisive turn on Wednesday, as 58 dissident MLAs backed legislator Ritabrata Banerjee, who has been expelled from the party, as the leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to the West Bengal Assembly speaker. In response, the Mamata Banerjee camp dissolved all organisational committees of the TMC in West Bengal amid a deepening power struggle. "After careful consideration, it has been decided that all committees of the All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, as well as all its frontal organisations, shall stand dissolved with immediate effect," the party said in a statement on X.
The twin developments marked the most serious internal challenge faced by the TMC since its formation, raising questions over who controls the party's legislative wing and its organisational machinery and casting doubt on the party's future after its crushing defeat in the Assembly elections.
The rebel camp, led by Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow MLA Sandipan Saha, who has also been expelled from the party, submitted letters of support signed by 58 legislators to Speaker Rathindra Bose.
Under the anti-defection law, a breakaway faction requires the support of at least two-thirds of a legislature party to avoid disqualification. With the TMC having 80 MLAs in the Assembly, the threshold stands at 54.
Several senior TMC legislators, including Samar Mukherjee (Ratua), Arup Roy (Howrah Madhya), Rathin Ghosh (Madhyamgram), Javed Ahmed Khan (Kasba), and Prasun Banerjee (Chanchal), joined the dissident camp's show of strength. Among the others present in the Assembly were Sabina Yeasmin (Sujapur), Samir Kumar Panja (Udaynarayanpur), Md Ghulam Rabbani (Goalpokhar), Emani Biswas (Suti), Hamidul Rahaman (Chopra), Dinen Roy (Kharagpur), Chandranath Sinha (Bolpur), Reyat Hossain Sarkar (Bhagabangola), Gulshan Mullick (Panchla), Priya Paul (Sankrail), Surajit Mitra (Basirhat Dakshin), Usha Rani Mondal (Minakhan), and Abdul Aziz (Lalgola).
Move leaves Mamata facing prospect of losing control over legislature party
The move potentially leaves the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC facing the prospect of losing effective control over its legislature party. Significantly, the rebels stopped short of challenging Mamata Banerjee's supremacy over the party.
In the communication submitted to the Speaker, they described her as the chairperson of the TMC, while making it clear that they no longer accepted the authority of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee in deciding the affairs of the legislature party.
Earlier in the day, Ritabrata Banerjee said, "The TMC has expelled me, but I believe that I am still with the party. If the MLAs are listening to me, then I am very powerful." Within hours of the dissident camp's move, the TMC announced the dissolution of all organisational committees in West Bengal and every frontal organisation.
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TMC set for big split in Bengal? Expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee claims support of 59 legislators
