Double blow to TMC in West Bengal. Leader of Opposition Ritab Banerjee formed a rebel group and appointed Anubrata Mandal, who was close to Mamata, as the president of Birbhum. At the same time, three former Rajya Sabha MPs of TMC joined BJP.
Big rebellion in TMC, Anubrata Mandal joins rebel group
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in West Bengal Ritab Banerjee on Saturday announced the appointment of district presidents for her faction, with former Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Anubrata Mandal made the Birbhum district president. Mandal, once a close aide of former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and considered a strong leader of Birbhum, has formally joined the rebel camp led by Ritab Banerjee, dealing another blow to TMC.
Addressing a press conference here, Ritab said, “We have appointed presidents of various districts. Prasun Banerjee has been made the president of Malda district, Debashish Kumar of South Kolkata district, Sandipan Saha of North Kolkata district and Anubrata Mandal of Birbhum district.” Speculations about Mandal switching sides had been going on for some time, but it was confirmed after Ritab Banerjee announced the new district leadership, naming him the Birbhum district chief of the faction.
New committee also announced
Earlier, Ritab had announced a new leadership structure for the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Committee and appointed Arup Roy as its president. He also formed a 30-member National Working Committee (NWC), while also reiterating that he wants Mamata Banerjee to play the role of mentor in the TMC. He said the 30-member committee includes Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh, Sabina Yasmin, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and others, while Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin have been appointed as vice-chairmen.
3 TMC leaders join BJP before Rajya Sabha elections
Earlier, TMC had suffered a blow when three prominent former Rajya Sabha MPs, Sukhendu Shekhar Roy, Sushmita Dev and Prakash Chik Baraik, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These leaders were formally inducted at the BJP state headquarters in the presence of West Bengal BJP president Sameek Bhattacharya and other senior party officials.
Within hours of joining the party, the BJP has fielded him for the upcoming Rajya Sabha by-elections in West Bengal. By-elections will be held on July 24 on the seats left vacant after the resignation of three former TMC leaders last month and counting of votes will take place on the same day.
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