Mamata Loses Trinamul, Speaker Recognises 58 Rebels As Real TMC
3 Jun 2026 5:34 PM IST3 Jun 2026 5:34 PM IST
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
Ritabrata Banerjee. (X)
Kolkata: The Trinamul Congress (TMC) legislature party in West Bengal suffered its first division in its 28 year history as it split into rival factions on Wednesday, with a majority group staking claim to the status of main Opposition in the Assembly. Of the 78 TMC MLAs, 58 formed a separate group led by expelled members Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. The group submitted a resolution to Speaker Rathindra Bose seeking recognition as the principal Opposition.
The rebel camp claimed support of more than a two-thirds majority and challenged an earlier proposal sent by the party leadership nominating Sovandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition. That proposal was rejected following complaints of alleged signature forgery, which is under probe.
The rebel group nominated Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition and proposed Sandipan Saha, Javed Ahmed Khan, Sabina Yasmin and Siuli Saha as deputy leaders, with Akhruzzaman as chief whip. The resolution also referred to party chief Mamata Banerjee as “supreme leader”.
The Speaker later approved the resolution and allotted the group a room in the Assembly.
The TMC leadership responded by dissolving all party committees and frontal organisations in West Bengal with immediate effect.
“After careful consideration, it has been decided that all committees of the All India Trinamul Congress in West Bengal, as well as all its frontal organisations, shall stand dissolved with immediate effect. The party will undertake a comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational assessment at every level,” the party said in a statement.
Speaking after the development, Ritabrata Banerjee said, “We have a total strength of 58 TMC MLAs now. Two more will join us. This will increase our tally to 60. Among the 58 MLAs, 24 were present during the submission of our resolution. We will act as a responsible Opposition, criticising and praising the government's policy as and when required.”
He also criticised Abhishek Banerjee’s leadership and thanked Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for inviting Opposition MLAs to administrative meetings.
It added that a reconstituted organisational structure would be announced after the review.
Meanwhile, some MLAs from the remaining group attended an administrative meeting convened by the Chief Minister at the state secretariat, indicating further strain within the party.
Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim later decided to resign from his post. Party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “He expressed his wish to our party chief repeatedly because he was not able to work after the change in power. Our party supremo has permitted him to resign for the sake of his honour.”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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