The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal is headed for a vertical split, with nearly 60 dissident legislators set to support ousted MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as leader of the opposition in the state assembly – a move that could establish the splinter group as the official TMC in the state assembly, drawing comparisons with what happened in Maharashtra in 2022.
Members of this group obtained signatures from nearly 60 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs in support of Ritabrata’s candidacy. “Our letter seeking recognition as the real TMC is ready. We will hand over the letter to Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathendra Bose on Wednesday,” a senior leader said.
Tapas Roy, a minister in Suvendu Adhikari’s government in the state – and like Adhikari himself, a TMC import – posted about a split in his former party on Facebook on Tuesday: “The Trinamool Congress has been shattered into pieces. The Trinamool is now facing a situation similar to that of Maharashtra; Ritabrata has reached the Assembly Speaker’s office accompanied by nearly 50 TMC members. The game is on.”
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Addressing a rally in Kolkata on Tuesday, TMC leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that the BJP is trying to divide the TMC. “A conspiracy has been hatched from Delhi to divide the TMC. But we will not allow that to happen. We will fight.”
“Mamata Banerjee is equal to TMC. Everything else is a joke,” said a senior TMC leader. Only nine representatives and members of Parliament attended the demonstration, which was her first since losing the elections.
But Ritabrata’s comments suggest that this may not be easy. “I think I still belong to Trinamool. Those who claim to be running Trinamool, which means grassroots, have actually lost touch with the grassroots level. Someone tried to institutionalize the party. But people did not accept it. People want a better version of TMC,” he told HT.
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Ritabrata was originally a CPI(M) Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha who was expelled in 2017 for anti-party activities. It was sent to the Rajya Sabha in 2024 by the TMC for just 15 months.
Dissident leaders need at least 54 signatures, or a two-thirds majority, to establish their group as the official transitional military council. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution states that “the merger of the original political party of a member of the House shall be deemed to have taken place only if not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislative party concerned approve of such merger.”
The battle within the party began quietly after the TMC recommended veteran Subhandeep Chattopadhyay as leader of the opposition on May 6. But after two party members, including Ritabrata, complained in writing on May 11 that some signatures on documents submitted to the state assembly regarding the appointment of the People’s Party were forged, Bose refused to accept the recommendation.
“Two TMC MLAs, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, have submitted a written complaint to the Speaker. The BJP has no role in this,” CM Adhikari said on Monday.
The Transitional Military Council announced the expulsion of its two deputies on June 1.
On Tuesday, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee wrote a new letter to Bose, reiterating the party’s decision to appoint Chattopadhyay as party MP. However, the House Speaker’s office did not receive the letter, a person familiar with the matter said.
The developments are strongly reminiscent of 2022 when Eknath Shinde led a revolt within the Shiv Sena that led to the fall of the MVA government. He became Prime Minister with the help of BJP on June 30, 2022, after which, his faction was recognized by the Election Commission as Shiv Sena. Former CM Uddhav Thackeray’s faction became the Sena (UBT).
A year later, a similar split occurred in Sharad Pawar’s NCP, also in Maharashtra. Trinamool, founded in 1998, has 28 Lok Sabha MPs and 13 Rajya Sabha legislators.
BJP leader and former Lok Sabha MP Locket Chatterjee said, “The TMC party is finished. After the election results were announced on May 4, despite the presence of 29 Lok Sabha MPs, several Rajya Sabha MPs and 80 MPs, there is absolutely no one to be seen. Mamata Banerjee is now moving alone… Whoever committed the theft will be arrested and brought to justice…”
Signs of division were evident when Mamata called a meeting of party members on Sunday (May 31). Of the 80 legislators (Ritabrata and Saha were not expelled at that time), only 20 attended, forcing Mamata to cancel the meeting. According to some defectors, they have issues with the leadership style of Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee. “After the TMC’s defeat, Mamata called a meeting on May 6 and asked all TMC members to stand and clap to congratulate Abhishek Banerjee. The first seed of dissidence was born at that moment.”
Kunal Ghosh, a Mamata loyalist, struck a philosophical note: “If the BJP tries to poach some Trinamool members by throwing carrots in front of them, I don’t see anything wrong with the BJP in doing so. They have organized ‘accession fairs’ in the past too; we too have recruited people from their ranks. Today, they are in power. Before I criticize them, I will look inward – to my home. I will focus my attention on those who, having recently achieved victory, are now writhing in the thick of it.” A late awakening of conscience – stifling and disturbed – simply because the party has stepped down from the government.
TMC is synonymous with Mamata Banerjee, the three-term chief minister who fashioned her uniform after leaving the Congress. While dissidents may succeed in splitting the party and being recognized in the assembly, analysts say popular acceptance is a different issue entirely.
“If there is widespread dissent in the TMC, I don’t think the dissidents can benefit politically in the long run. Their influence in the TMC will be limited. Mamata Banerjee has an independent space as leader of the opposition. But this faction will operate in a limited space, which will be determined by the BJP,” said Manindra Nath Thakur, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University.
