The mystery surrounding the 20th Trinamool Congress MP seems to have ended as another TMC MP was seen arriving at Union Minister Bhupinder Yadav’s residence along with dissident leader Satabdi Roy.
The rebel group, which has the support of 19 MPs in the Lok Sabha, signed a letter expressing its support for a rival faction of the TMC, and demanding the party’s symbol.
While the letter contained the signatures of 19 rebels, the serial number was marked up to 20 and the missing name in exchange for the number 13 sparked speculation of a new MP joining the rebel faction.
Also read: Rebel team swells to 64, late night raid on Abhishek Banerjee’s residence: Fears mount of TMC split
On Saturday, the speculation came to a halt when TMC MP Sudeep Bandyopadhyay arrived at Bhupinder Yadav’s residence in Delhi, along with rebel leader Satabdi Roy.
The meeting, held at Union Minister Motilal Nehru Marg’s residence, gives an indication that the veteran MP could join the dissident group.
Bandyopadhyay, the Lok Sabha MP from the Kolkata Uttar seat, remains one of the TMC’s senior parliamentarians and has long been seen as a key bridge between the party leadership and the political establishment in Delhi.
What now for the rebel faction in the Transitional Military Council?
The rebel group is now preparing to meet Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday seeking recognition as the “real TMC” and allowing them to sit alongside the ruling BJP-led NDA in the House.
According to procedures, the Speaker will take a call on the request to identify the rebel group as the original TMC after due process, which includes a face-to-face meeting with them.
Also Read: Fake Military ID, Fake Gun and Two Guards: How ‘Fake Brigadier’ Aryan Verma fooled people
Rebel MP Jagadish Chandra Parma Basonia said on Friday that 19 of the party’s 28 members in the Lok Sabha already support the faction.
Kakoli Ghosh Dasdidhar, leader of the rebel faction, announced that the bloc would extend support to the BJP-led NDA in Parliament after getting recognition.
The rebel faction’s letter, dated 18 May, bore the signatures of 19 rebel MPs, but the serial numbers showed the signatories as 1 to 20. The missing signature opposite the number 13 raised speculation about the name of the MP who would join the rebel group.
The letter contains names, including Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar; Satabdi Roy; Babi Haldar; Sharmila Sarkar; Prasoon Bandyopadhyay; Jagadish Parma Basonia; Asit Kumar Mal; Arup Chakraborty; Rachna Banerjee; Sayoni Ghosh; Khalil Rahman; Abu Tahir Khan; Yusuf Pathan; metal bag; mala roy; Kalipada Surin; Deepak Adhikari; John Mallya and Partha Bhowmick.
The latest development represents a new setback for Mamata Banerjee in a long list of turmoil her party is facing after the huge loss in the Bengal elections.
A group of 64 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs broke away from the party in the state Assembly and received recognition from Speaker Rathendra Bose, with the leader of the dissident faction, Ritabrata Banerjee, named as leader of the opposition.
