TMC at verge of split as rebel leaders meet Speaker: Will Shiv Sena story rewind in Bengal?

West Bengal’s former ruling party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is at the verge of a split. In a last ditch attempt to save the party, TMC dissolved all its committees, frontal organisations in West Bengal and said that it will undertake “comprehensive introspection, performance review, organisational assessment at every level and organisational structure of parent body, all frontal wings will be reconstituted and announced in due course.” However, it did little to assuage the grievances of the rebel leaders as they submitted a letter to the Legislative Assembly Speaker with 58 signatures proposing the name of Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay as the Leader of Opposition (LoP). The speaker has accepted the letter.

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What is TMC saying?

This is a counter move as TMC announced Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the House, Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as deputies, and Firhad Hakim as chief whip. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of orchestrating the split. The party has described the rebellion as an act of disloyalty. Senior party leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh said that any grievances could have been addressed within the organisation and termed the rebels as “traitors.” "If they had any issues, they could have discussed them within the party. Instead, they chose to backstab the party," he told reporters.He pressed that party would stay united under Mamata Banerjee's leadership.

How did the crisis begin?

The crisis began on May 6 when newly elected MLAs met in Mamata Banerjee's residence. Soon after the meeting, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay was appointed the leader of the opposition, while Nayana Bandyopadhyay and Ashima Patra would be deputy leaders and Firhad Hakim would take over as chief whip. The party gave an impression that all elected MPs authorised the party leadership to decide the appointments. However, the assembly secretariat did not process the communication, pointing to procedural rules requiring such office-bearers to be elected at a formal meeting of the legislature party. The situation intensified as TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha from the party.

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How the situation escalated?

Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee spoke to media claimed the support of nearly 60 MLAs, and paved way for a possible split. He asked the Assembly recognise as the “real TMC.” Banerjee called for a meeting and reports indicate that as many as 60 of TMC's 80 MLAs turned up. That means, the number claimed by Ritabrata, if true, crosses the two-thirds threshold required to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. This is a deja vu of 2022 split in Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray. Moreover, veteran leader Javed Khan, regarded as a close Mamata Banerjee loyalist since the party's early days, also joined the dissident group.

What is TMC saying?

This is a counter move as TMC announced Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the House, Ashima Patra and Nayana Bandopadhyay as deputies, and Firhad Hakim as chief whip. Former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the BJP of orchestrating the split. The party has described the rebellion as an act of disloyalty. Senior party leader and MLA Kunal Ghosh said that any grievances could have been addressed within the organisation and termed the rebels as “traitors.” "If they had any issues, they could have discussed them within the party. Instead, they chose to backstab the party," he told reporters.He pressed that party would stay united under Mamata Banerjee's leadership.

How did the crisis begin?

The crisis began on May 6 when newly elected MLAs met in Mamata Banerjee's residence. Soon after the meeting, Sovandeb Chattopadhyay was appointed the leader of the opposition, while Nayana Bandyopadhyay and Ashima Patra would be deputy leaders and Firhad Hakim would take over as chief whip. The party gave an impression that all elected MPs authorised the party leadership to decide the appointments. However, the assembly secretariat did not process the communication, pointing to procedural rules requiring such office-bearers to be elected at a formal meeting of the legislature party. The situation intensified as TMC expelled Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha from the party.

How the situation escalated?

Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee spoke to media claimed the support of nearly 60 MLAs, and paved way for a possible split. He asked the Assembly recognise as the “real TMC.” Banerjee called for a meeting and reports indicate that as many as 60 of TMC's 80 MLAs turned up. That means, the number claimed by Ritabrata, if true, crosses the two-thirds threshold required to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law. This is a deja vu of 2022 split in Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde against Uddhav Thackeray. Moreover, veteran leader Javed Khan, regarded as a close Mamata Banerjee loyalist since the party's early days, also joined the dissident group.