Kolkata, June 3: The recent assembly elections in West Bengal have led to an official split within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) just a month after their defeat.
Out of the 80 TMC legislators, 58 have revolted under the leadership of expelled members Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. On Wednesday, a new proposal was introduced in the assembly, signed by these 58 legislators, claiming they are the true representatives of the TMC. Ritabrata Banerjee, the MLA from Uluberia (East), has been appointed as the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in this proposal.
Additionally, the proposal designates several TMC legislators as deputy leaders of the opposition. This includes Sandipan Saha from the Entally constituency in North Kolkata, Shiuli Saha from Keshpur in West Medinipur, and Javed Ahmed Khan from Kasba in South 24 Parganas.
Veteran TMC MLA Akhruzzaman from Raghunathganj has been named the chief whip of this new faction. However, the proposal still recognizes Mamata Banerjee as the party’s ‘supremo’ or president.
The 58 legislators began arriving at the assembly premises one by one in the morning. Following this, a meeting of the rebel legislators was held, where they approved five names for the five opposition reserved seats in the assembly.
Led by Ritabrata Banerjee, the 58 legislators then approached the Speaker’s chamber to present the proposal, which was accepted by the Speaker.
Last month, TMC General Secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee had sent a letter to the Speaker’s office, nominating Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay as LoP, and Naina Bandopadhyay and Asima Patra as the two deputy leaders, with Firhad Hakim as the chief whip of the TMC legislative party.
However, the Speaker insisted that the proposal signed by the TMC legislators, which supported four names for assembly seats, should be submitted alongside Abhishek Banerjee’s letter. The proposal with the signatures was submitted to the Speaker’s office, but the situation took a dramatic turn when Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha pointed out discrepancies in the signatures of some party legislators. Both were expelled from the TMC earlier this week.
Shortly after, the assembly secretariat handed over the matter to the CID, which summoned Abhishek Banerjee for questioning twice.
Meanwhile, the rebellion within the TMC intensified, culminating in the formation of a new faction that claims to be the true representative of the party.
As of the time of this report, there has been no response from Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, or any other TMC leader or elected representative, who still remain loyal to the aunt-nephew duo.
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