• Source:JND

After losing the West Bengal Assembly elections, tensions for the state's three-time Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, are far from seeing an end as she also appears to be losing control of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a party that she formed and managed to make a powerful entity in the state.

Her MLAs have rebelled and have secured the appointment of Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Bengal Assembly against her wish.

Ritabrata claims to have 60 MLAs with him in the House. Speaker Rathindra Bose's decision on his appointment came after Ritabrata, the expelled MLA, met him with a letter of support from 58 MLAs, a move seen in political circles as a sign of a possible major split within the TMC.

Why did Ritabrata and TMC MLAs rebel?

The rift that ended in a rebellion started over the appointment of the Leader of the Opposition and other legislative party officials. After the poll defeat, a meeting of newly elected legislators was held on May 6. The MLAs entrusted Mamata Banerjee to decide on the LoP.

ALSO READ: Who Is Ritabrata Banerjee, The New Leader Of Opposition In West Bengal Assembly?

However, a letter naming Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay was rejected by the Speaker as it lacked a procedural requirement of being sent by the legislative party.

Meanwhile, on May 13 and 14, a register was signed during the swearing-in of MLAs. Following this, a list of MLAs who attended the meeting on May 19 was compiled.

When the second letter with signatures of 70 MLAs was submitted to the Speaker, he found a signature mismatch of some MLAs. This triggered a fake signature row culminating in a CID investigation.

The rift within the party was brewing, but was not out in the open. Mamata convened several meetings, but the majority of MLAs remained absent. Reports suggested that the legislators had rejected the leadership of Diamond Harbour MP and Mamata's nephew, Abhishek Banerjee.

ALSO READ: Ritabrata Banerjee, Expelled TMC Rebel, Appointed As LoP In Major Setback For Mamata

Ritabrata and Sandipan Saha's names emerged as MLAs who filed a complaint with the Speaker. At a Monday press conference by CM Suvendu, mentioning a complaint by two TMC MLAs, both Ritabrata and Sandipan were expelled by TMC.

The closed-door dispute erupted in the open, and the Ritabrata-led bloc claimed the majority and the LoP post accordingly. However, the group has still addressed Mamata as her leader but expressed a desire for her advisory role. The group has also sought accountability from Abhishek for the poll defeat.


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