Expelled TMC leader Ritabrata elected LoP, 58 rebel MLAs pledge support

TMC dissolves all party committees, frontal organisations

- MPOST BUREAU

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Wednesday witnessed the first split in its 28-year history as 58 rebel MLAs rallied behind expelled party leader Ritabrata Banerjee and elected him Leader of the Opposition (LoP), wresting control of the party’s legislature wing in the state Assembly.

The move received the Assembly Speaker’s recognition, pushing Mamata Banerjee’s outfit into its most serious internal crisis since its formation.

As the political tremors spread, TMC leadership moved swiftly to contain the fallout, dissolving all party committees and frontal organisations across West Bengal within hours.

The rebel camp, led by Ritabrata Banerjee and fellow expelled MLA Sandipan Saha, submitted letters of support from 58 legislators before Speaker Rathindra Bose, crossing the twothirds threshold required under the anti-defection law for recognition as a separate bloc.

Several veteran TMC legislators joined the rebellion, including Samar Mukhopadhyay, Arup Roy, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Prasun Banerjee.

"Our claim has been accepted by the Speaker," Ritabrata told reporters after meeting the Speaker.

Ritabrata, a former blue-eyed boy of the Left Front, was expelled from CPI(M) in 2017 for antiparty activities and later joined the TMC.

Claiming legitimacy through numbers, he asserted that the dissidents now represented the real TMC in the Assembly.

"The TMC legislative party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the TMC symbol. We are the real TMC now in the Assembly," he said.

The dissident camp unveiled a new leadership structure, naming Ritabrata Banerjee as LoP and Akhruzzaman as chief whip.

Senior legislators and party oldtimers Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha were appointed deputy leaders.