Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is on the verge of a split with rebel MLAs reaching the West Bengal Assembly on Wednesday with a letter bearing the signatures of nearly 60 of them.
This group is set to write to the Speaker demanding that Ritabrata Banerjee – MLA from Uluberia Purba – be recognised as Leader of Opposition. Sandipan Saha of Entally has been proposed as Deputy Leader of Opposition, while Raghunathganj MLA Akhurzzaman’s name has been put forward as Chief Whip, as reported by News18.
The dissent comes less than a month after the TMC was all but wiped out in the Assembly elections, managing to win only 80 seats as compared to the BJP’s 209. The writing on the wall was clear when only about 20 MLAs attended a
meeting convened by party supremo Mamata Banerjee recently.
According to insiders, the dissenters are not against Mamata, but are refusing to accept Abhishek Banerjee as a leader, accusing him for the loss. Abhishek is Mamata’s nephew and the national general secretary of the TMC.
The dissenters had been camping in Kolkata for two days ahead of the move. On Tuesday evening, a meeting of rebel MLAs was held at the MLA hostel, attended by Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, firming up the group’s position before Wednesday’s Assembly appearance. Former minister and Sujapur MLA Sabina Yasmin was unequivocal: “We will propose Ritabrata Banerjee’s name as Leader of Opposition.”
This is not just a gathering of disgruntled veterans. Among those backing the rebel camp are several first-time MLAs who won their seats just weeks ago. A large number of minority-community MLAs from the Murshidabad district have also thrown their weight behind the group.
Some prominent names among the rebels include, former minister Javed Khan from Kasba, who was once considered close to Mamata, former minister Chandranath Sinha of Bolpur and Birbhum strongman Kajal Sheikh.
However, not all who reached the Assembly during the day had made up their minds. While some maintained that Mamata remained their leader; others cited personal work as their reason for visiting the Assembly.