TMC Rebel MLA Ritabrata Banerjee Becomes LoP in West Bengal

Kolkata: In a major setback for Mamata Banerjee, recently expelled Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee has been recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly.

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.

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, 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.

The dissidents proposed Banerjee as the legislature party leader, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip.

Several senior TMC legislators, including Samar Mukhopadhyay, Arup Roy, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Prasun Banerjee, joined the dissident camp's show of strength.

Among the others present in the Assembly were Sabina Yasmin, Samir Panja, Golam Rabbani, Imani Biswas, Hamidur Rahaman, Dinen Roy, Chandranath Sinha, Riaz Hossain, Gulshan Mallik, Piya Pal, Surajit Mitra, Usharani Mondal and Abdul Aziz.

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.

A leader associated with the dissident camp said, "A new Trinamool takes shape. Ritabrata Banerjee named Leader of Opposition. Akhruzzaman as chief whip. Sixty-four victorious TMC MLAs are with us. We accept Mamata Banerjee as our leader, but do not accept Abhishek Banerjee."

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.

"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.

It said the party would undertake a "comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational assessment at every level", after which the entire organisational structure would be reconstituted.

Interestingly, Ritabarta Banerjee was the state president of the TMC's trade union, whereas Abhishek Banerjee was the TMC national general secretary.

The situation bears striking similarities to the "Maharashtra model", when Eknath Shinde led a revolt within the Shiv Sena, securing the backing of a majority of MLAs and eventually the control of the legislative wing, leaving the parent leadership battling for political legitimacy.

It also evokes memories of the split in the Nationalist Congress Party in 2023, when Ajit Pawar broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar's camp, armed with the support of a majority of legislators.

The subsequent legal and political battle culminated in the Election Commission recognising Ajit Pawar's faction as the real NCP and awarding it the party's name and symbol.

For Mamata Banerjee, the immediate challenge is not merely retaining the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly -- a position for which only 30 MLAs are required -- but preserving political authority over the legislature party.

Senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh said differences could have been resolved within the party and accused the dissidents of "backstabbing" the organisation at a difficult moment.

The BJP, which swept to power in the state last month, seized on the developments.

"Mamata Banerjee thought she could become prime minister by abusing Prime Minister Modi. A month ago, she was the chief minister of West Bengal.

"In the elections, the people of West Bengal rejected her. Today, even her party members and MLAs have rejected her. She has lost control of the legislative party in the West Bengal Assembly. And this is just the beginning. She will have to account for the blood on her hands," BJP IT department head Amit Malviya posted on X.