If reports are to be believed, the Trinamool Congress is heading the way Shiv Sena went in June 2022. It was Eknath Shinde who led rebel MLAs against Uddhav Thackeray and split the key party in Maharashtra. Now, it is apparently expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who apparently has support of several rebel legislators who are backing him as the Leader of Opposition.
This comes as Mamata Banerjee has declared her close aide and MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as the official candidate for the post of opposition leader.
MLAs Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha were expelled from the TMC over alleged anti-party activities. However, the expulsion sparked a controversy as they were removed after questioning "forged signatures" in documents submitted to the state assembly regarding the appointment of the Leader of Opposition and the party's chief whip. The two MLAs claimed that they never signed in the submitted documents.
Riju Dutta, a former national spokesperson suspended by the TMC, claimed that around 50 MLAs are preparing to stake claim on Mamata's party and its election symbol, Twin Flower.
"We are a two-thirds majority. Around 50 MLAs are with us. Since we are the real Trinamool Congress, the Leader of the Opposition will be Ritabrata Bandopadhyay, and not Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay," Dutta said
While around 50 MLAs allegedly held a separate meeting at a hotel, only a few parliamentarians and legislators loyal to Mamata were present at the protest staged by the party leadership in Kolkata. These included MPs Dola Sen and Kalyan Banerjee as well as MLAs Madan Mitra, Ashok Deb, Asima Patra, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and Nayna Bandhopadhyay.
On Monday too, 61 of the 80 MLAs skipped key party meetings.
Who is Ritabrata Banerjee?
Ritabrata Banerjee began his political career in the CPI(M) student wing SFI and became its all-India General Secretary in 2008. The CPI(M) gave him a Rajya Sabha berth in 2014. In October 2017, he was suspended from the party for allegedly leaking party secrets to media. He was also accused of maintaining a lavish lifestyle, including expensive travel and luxurious accessories. After CPI(M) expulsion, he completed the remainder of his Rajya Sabha term as an Independent.
In 2018, he joined the TMC, where he initially served as the head of the party's tribal welfare committee. Soon he was appointed the state president of TMC trade union wing, Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC).
In 2024, TMC gave him a Rajya Sabha berth. His term ended in April. In the recent assembly polls, he won from Uluberia Purba.
BJP also see a Shiv Sena-like split in TMC
Tapas Roy, a minister in the Suvendu Adhikari government, also made similar comments, claiming that the TMC is heading towards a split as it had accommodated people with little political background.
"There is growing dissatisfaction among many leaders and legislators. The developments indicate that the party is heading towards a split, a situation similar to what happened in Maharashtra," said Roy, a BJP MLA from Maniktala. Roy himself switched over to the BJP from TMC in 2024.
