The high-voltage turmoil within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) now appears set to spill beyond the West Bengal Assembly and into Parliament. Having wrested control of the party's legislature wing, rebel leaders are reportedly exploring ways to challenge the leadership of TMC's parliamentary unit headed by Abhishek Banerjee.
On Wednesday, the Mamata Banerjee-led party witnessed its first major split in its 28-year history after expelled leader Ritabrata Banerjee was elected Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly with the support of 58 rebel MLAs. The dissident camp also unveiled a new leadership structure, appointing Akhruzzaman as chief whip, while senior legislators Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha were named deputy leaders.
According to a News18 report, the rebels are now attempting to expand their influence to the party's parliamentary wing by mobilising support among TMC MPs. The party currently has 29 Lok Sabha members, with Abhishek Banerjee serving as parliamentary leader. If a significant number of MPs side with the dissident faction, it could pave the way for a challenge to Abhishek's leadership and reshape the party's power structure at the national level.
Such a revolt within the parliamentary wing could have far-reaching consequences, potentially weakening TMC's standing within the Opposition bloc and diluting its campaign against the BJP.
The crisis erupted after TMC's crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, which ended the party's one-and-a-half-decade rule and reduced it to just 80 seats in the 294-member House.
Signs of dissent became visible on Sunday when nearly 60 of TMC's 80 MLAs reportedly skipped a meeting convened by party chief Mamata Banerjee.
The situation escalated further following allegations of signature forgery. MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha filed a complaint with Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, alleging that a party letter endorsing Sobhondeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition had been fabricated.
The two legislators were promptly expelled from the party, but the move appeared to backfire. On Wednesday, Ritabrata Banerjee secured control of the legislature party after the rebel camp submitted letters of support from 58 MLAs to the Speaker—comfortably crossing the two-thirds threshold required under the anti-defection law for recognition as a separate bloc.
Within hours, a rattled TMC leadership dissolved all party committees and frontal organisations across West Bengal in what appeared to be a bid to regain political control and contain the widening rebellion.
The Mamata Banerjee camp has also raised objections to the rebels' move, claiming that the representation sent to the Speaker was submitted on plain paper instead of the Trinamool Congress's official letterhead.
Meanwhile, a CID investigation is underway to the signature forgery allegations.
