According to claims, as many as 20 Members of Parliament from the Trinamool Congress have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking recognition as a separate faction within the House. While the names of these MPs have not been made public, the development has intensified speculation about a widening rift within the party’s parliamentary wing.
The unrest follows a broader pattern of reported defections and dissent across multiple levels of the organization. It is being claimed that out of 28 Trinamool Congress Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, 20 have distanced themselves from the party line, leaving only 8 MPs aligned with the leadership. In the Rajya Sabha, out of 13 members, 2 are said to have resigned, leaving 11 remaining representatives with the party.
In the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, the situation appears similarly strained. Of the 80 seats won by the Trinamool Congress, 58 legislators are reported to have formed a separate faction, leaving only 22 legislators with the party’s central leadership.
The fragmentation reportedly began on 3 June, when 58 MLAs formed a breakaway group and selected expelled legislator Ritabrata Banerjee as their leader. The faction submitted a support letter to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, seeking recognition of Banerjee as the Leader of the Opposition, a request that was subsequently approved.
Further reports indicate that 21 councillors from North Dumdum have also resigned, adding to the expanding list of defections from local governance bodies.
On 8 June, developments intensified in Parliament when 20 out of 28 Trinamool Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha reportedly decided to extend support to the National Democratic Alliance government. Former party leader Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar stated that a signed letter from the MPs had been submitted to Speaker Om Birla, requesting the formation of a separate parliamentary bloc and distinct seating arrangements.
Amid these developments, attention has sharply turned to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s silence. Despite mounting defections and public claims of internal rebellion, she has not issued a detailed response, fueling further political speculation.
Party insiders and observers suggest that the crisis now extends beyond numerical losses. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar was quoted as saying that if such a large number of MPs were to align with the NDA, it would not merely be a matter of parliamentary strength but would also raise serious questions about Mamata Banerjee’s political control over the party.
As the situation continues to unfold, the Trinamool Congress faces mounting uncertainty over its organizational unity, legislative strength, and leadership authority at both the state and national levels.
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