Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress split for the first time in its 28-year history on Wednesday, June 3, as 58 rebel MLAs seized control of the party’s legislature wing, elected expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as its leader, and secured recognition from the West Bengal Assembly Speaker.
Banerjee, however, sought to temper the rebellion by urging the former chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to serve as chief adviser to the newly constituted legislature team, even as the dissidents declared themselves the “real” Trinamool Congress in the Assembly.
The dramatic development marked the culmination of a revolt that began with allegations of forged signatures on a letter proposing a Leader of Opposition and snowballed into an open challenge to the party leadership following the TMC’s defeat at the hands of the BJP in the assembly elections.
Addressing a press conference in the Assembly after meeting Speaker Rathindra Bose, Ritabrata Banerjee claimed that the dissident camp enjoyed the support of a two-thirds majority of the TMC’s 80 MLAs and had formally staked its claim to lead the legislature party.
“Our claim has been accepted by the Speaker,” Banerjee said.
Claiming legitimacy based on numbers, he asserted that the dissident faction now represented the true opposition in the House.
“The TMC legislative party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the TMC symbol,” he said.
Rebel leader opens LoP office
Banerjee said two more legislators, currently outside the state, had conveyed their support and were expected to formally join the camp soon.
The rebel leader said the Speaker had accepted the new composition of the legislature party and opened the office meant for the Leader of the Opposition for him.
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The dissident camp also unveiled a new leadership structure.
Banerjee announced that Akhruzzaman had been appointed chief whip, while veteran legislators Javed Ahmed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin and Shiuli Saha would serve as deputy leaders of the legislature party.
He said the letters communicating the appointments had already been submitted to the Speaker.
Seeking to establish the rebellion’s legitimacy, Banerjee repeatedly invoked parliamentary conventions and the numerical strength of his camp.
“We are the majority in the legislature party. According to parliamentary norms, we are the real and main opposition in the West Bengal Assembly,” he said.
Ritabrata seeks Mamata’s guidance, says no role for Abhishek Banerjee
In a significant political gesture, the expelled leader appealed to Mamata Banerjee to guide the legislative party despite the revolt against her organisational leadership.
“We would request Mamata Banerjee to play the role of the chief adviser of the legislative party,” he said.
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At the same time, Banerjee drew a distinction between the dissident camp and the party’s organisational command, indicating that the rebels did not recognise any role for TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, considered number 2 in the party hierarchy, in the functioning of the legislature party.
The comments underscored the widening divide between the party’s elected legislators and a section of its organisational leadership, a fault line that has deepened since the election setback.
Banerjee said the dissident camp would function as a constructive opposition and not indulge in obstructionism.
‘We will not oppose for the sake of opposition’
“We will oppose the government’s policies that we don’t think are right. But we will not oppose for the sake of opposition,” he said.
Thanking Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari for inviting opposition legislators to an administrative meeting at the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ earlier in the day, he said rebel MLAs from Kolkata, Howrah and North 24 Parganas had attended the meeting.
“We will play the role of a responsible and constructive opposition. We will fight the government eye to eye where necessary, but we will also appreciate positive steps taken by it,” he said.
Seeking to project a collective style of functioning, Banerjee rejected suggestions of one-man leadership.
“I am not a boss. I do not believe in bossism. I believe in ‘we’. All decisions will be taken through discussions,” he said.
Akhruzzaman, appointed chief whip by the dissident camp, alleged that the official TMC leadership failed to follow established parliamentary procedures while electing the Leader of the Opposition after the assembly polls.
Roots of the rebellion
The roots of the rebellion can be traced to the controversy surrounding a proposal sent to the Speaker seeking recognition of senior TMC MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition. The proposal triggered allegations that signatures of several MLAs had been forged, prompting the registration of a first information report (FIR) and a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe.
It was Banerjee and fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha who first flagged the alleged irregularities before Assembly authorities, transforming what initially appeared to be an internal dispute into a battle for control of the legislature party.
On Wednesday, that battle appeared to reach a decisive stage.
The Speaker’s acceptance of the dissidents’ claim formalised the first split, leaving the Mamata Banerjee-led organisation facing an unprecedented challenge from within and setting the stage for a prolonged struggle over the party’s political and organisational future.
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