THE rebellion within the TMC took a decisive turn on Wednesday as the party split for the first time in its 28-year history, after 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 West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose. In a move that could redraw the Opposition’s power structure in the House, sources said that Banerjee, along with fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha and several dissident legislators, met the Speaker and submitted letters of support signed by 58 MLAs. They also proposed a new leadership team, naming Banerjee as the legislature party leader, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip. The dramatic development, vertically splitting the Trinamool legislative party into two -- similar to the ‘Maharashtra model’ where a split in the Shiv Sena in 2022 by a faction led by Eknath Shinde broke away from the parent party and, with the support of the BJP, formed the Government in the State -- and claimed the status of the principal Opposition. The developments followed a meeting of dissident legislators at the Assembly. None of the MLAs who attended the meeting at the Assembly was present at former Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s dharna in central Kolkata on Tuesday.

 

On the other hand, leaders such as Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Madan Mitra and Kunal Ghosh, who are seen close to the TMC leadership, stayed away from the meeting at the Assembly on Wednesday. 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. If the rebel camp’s claim is accepted, it would comfortably cross that mark and strengthen its case for recognition as a separate bloc in the House. In a notable political signal, the communication submitted to the Speaker described Mamata Banerjee as the party’s chairperson, indicating that the rebels are attempting to frame their battle as one against the existing legislature party leadership rather than against the TMC supremo herself. Sources in the camp said the legislators have also made it clear that they do not accept Abhishek Banerjee’s authority in deciding the affairs of the legislature party. The TMC leadership, however, dismissed the exercise as an act of betrayal. Senior party leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh said any differences could have been resolved through discussions within the organisation. “If they had any issues, they could have discussed them within the party. Instead, they chose to backstab the party,” he told reporters. Ironically, Ritabrata Banerjee, expelled by the TMC leadership, has emerged as the principal face of the revolt, while the inclusion of veteran leader Javed Khan -- a trusted Mamata Banerjee associate since the party’s formative years -- has lent the dissident camp additional political heft.