Another jolt to Mamata Banerjee? 58 rebel TMC MLAs back Ritabrata Banrjee as legislature party leader, submit claim to WB speaker

At the centre of the developments was expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, whose arrival at the Assembly fuelled speculation that he had secured the backing of nearly two-thirds of the party's legislators and was preparing to challenge the authority of the existing leadership.

As many as 58 dissident TMC MLAs backed expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the legislature party and conveyed their decision to West Bengal Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose on Wednesday, a move that could redraw the opposition's power structure in the House.

Sources said that Banerjee, along with fellow rebel MLA Sandipan Saha and several dissident legislators, met the Speaker and submitted letters of support signed by 58 MLAs. They also proposed a new leadership team, naming Banerjee as the legislature party leader, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, and Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman as the chief whip.

None of the MLAs attending the meeting at the Assembly was present at former chief minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's dharna in central Kolkata on Tuesday.

On the other hand, leaders such as Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, Nayana Bandyopadhyay, Madan Mitra and Kunal Ghosh, who are seen close to the TMC leadership, stayed away from the meeting at the Assembly on Wednesday.

As Speaker Rathindra Bose arrived at the Assembly and the rival TMC camp prepared to press their claims, the focus shifted to whether the rebels could translate their claimed numbers into a formal challenge.

Under the anti-defection law, a breakaway faction requires the support of at least two-thirds of a legislative party to escape disqualification. With the TMC having 80 MLAs in the Assembly, the threshold stands at 54.

If the rebel camp's claim of support from 59 legislators is borne out, it would comfortably cross that mark and strengthen its case for recognition as the legitimate TMC legislature party.

While only 30 MLAs are needed to stake claim to the post of Leader of the Opposition, the larger battle appears to be over control of the legislature party and the poll symbol.

The crisis stems from a procedural dispute that has snowballed into a full-blown political confrontation.

At a meeting of newly elected MLAs at Mamata Banerjee's residence on May 6, legislators reportedly authorised the party leadership to decide the names for Leader of the Opposition, deputy leader and chief whip.

The TMC subsequently informed the Assembly that Sovandeb Chattopadhyay would be Leader of the Opposition, Nayana Bandyopadhyay and Ashima Patra deputy leaders, and Firhad Hakim the chief whip.

However, the Assembly secretariat did not act on the communication, citing rules requiring such office-bearers to be elected at a formal meeting of the legislature party.

The dispute escalated after dissident MLAs alleged that signatures on the communication to the Assembly secretariat were "fake". The controversy eventually led to the TMC expelling MLAs Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha from the party earlier this week.

The dissidents insist no such resolution was adopted on May 6 and that legislators merely signed an attendance register. The party leadership has rejected the allegation and accused the rebels of acting at the behest of forces seeking to destabilise the TMC after its electoral defeat.

Wednesday's developments also revived questions over Mamata Banerjee's grip on the legislature party. At a meeting convened by her earlier this week, attendance was reportedly limited to around 20 legislators despite the party having 80 MLAs in the House.

The Speaker's response could determine not only who occupies the Opposition benches, but also who commands the loyalty of the Trinamool Congress legislature party in the aftermath of its electoral defeat.

With PTI inputs