The development is being viewed as a calculated attempt to politically isolate Abhishek Banerjee, who has repeatedly been accused by Ritabrata Banerjee of running the party in a corporate-style structure. The move is also seen as creating a direct dilemma for Mamata Banerjee, potentially forcing her to choose between her nephew and a majority bloc of party legislators.
Following the West Bengal Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress holds 80 MLAs. With 60 legislators reportedly backing the rebel claim, the faction would comfortably surpass the two-thirds threshold required under anti-defection provisions. This arithmetic raises the possibility that the group could later stake claim to the party’s name and symbol if a formal split occurs and Mamata Banerjee rejects their proposal, strengthening their negotiating position and allowing them to project moral legitimacy by claiming loyalty to the party’s founder.
The rebel group has also alleged that signatures of several Trinamool Congress MLAs, including their own, were forged on an official resolution document that named the Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Leader, and Chief Whip on May 6.
Soon after their expulsion, Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha were reportedly seen engaging with multiple legislators at the MLA Hostel in Kolkata, intensifying speculation about the formation of a parallel faction within the party. Party leader Kunal Ghosh accused the expelled leaders of attempting to split the organisation and claimed they held a secret meeting with select MLAs at a hotel in south Kolkata.
In a parallel development, three Trinamool Congress MLAs—Ashok Deb, Nayna Bandopadhyay, and Kunal Ghosh—who had attended Mamata Banerjee’s rally earlier on Tuesday, were also seen attending an administrative review meeting at Nabanna chaired by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Kunal Ghosh was observed entering the building carrying a file. Earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee’s rally reportedly saw attendance from only eight of the party’s 80 legislators, largely comprising senior and older members of the organisation.
During a Facebook Live session a day earlier, Mamata Banerjee described Ritabrata Banerjee as “unprincipled” and a “betrayer.” On the same day, Ritabrata Banerjee arrived at the West Bengal Assembly and told reporters that the party had been “hijacked by IPAC” and no longer belonged to Mamata Banerjee.
He further admitted to meeting several MLAs at the MLA Hostel and stated that he had shared puffed rice with them. When questioned about claims that more than 50 MLAs supported him, he responded that he preferred to “live by the day.”
Ritabrata Banerjee also rejected the Trinamool Congress’s assertion that a unanimous resolution had been passed appointing Shobandeb Chattopadhyay as Leader of the Opposition, alleging instead that his signature had only been taken on an attendance sheet.
The unfolding developments underscore a deepening internal rupture within the Trinamool Congress, marked by allegations of factionalism, competing claims of legislative support, and a widening leadership divide that now places the party’s organisational unity under severe strain.
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