Did the rebellion of 58 MLAs in TMC give the biggest blow to Mamata Banerjee’s hold? Why did only 8 MLAs attend the meeting? Is the party broken from within? Will accepting Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of opposition cause a major upheaval in Bengal politics? In which direction will TMC’s future go between the court battle and political conflict?
Trinamool Congress Split: There has been an earthquake in the political history of West Bengal which has shaken the foundation of the three decade old ruling party. The emergency meeting held on Friday at the Kalighat residence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has exposed the infighting within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which till now efforts were being suppressed. This is considered to be the biggest and historic organizational split so far in the stronghold of Mamata Banerjee, who once ruled the state politics as a monopolist.
Kalighat in silence: When chairs remained empty in Mamta’s meeting
Salt was sprinkled on the wounds of TMC, which was reduced to only 80 seats in the election results, when there was silence in the very important meeting called by Mamata Banerjee. Amidst the open rebellion of 58 MLAs, only eight (8) MLAs, excluding the rebel group, attended the meeting. According to ANI, only a few loyalists like Bina Mandal, Ashima Patra, Madan Mitra, Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, Shobhandev Chattopadhyay, Biman Banerjee and Ashok Kumar Deb were seen at the meeting. Although six top MPs – Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien, Dola Sen, Mala Roy, Kalyan Banerjee and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were also present in the meeting, this negligible number of MLAs clearly indicates the diminishing influence of the leadership within the party.
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The new face of the rebellion: Will the ‘real TMC’ be lost?
The command of this coup has been taken over by Ritabrata Banerjee, who was once a firebrand student leader of CPI(M) and later reached Rajya Sabha through TMC. Ritabrata met the Speaker of the Assembly on Wednesday and soon after surprised everyone by officially declaring himself the ‘Leader of the Opposition’ (LoP) in the Assembly. Ritabrata Banerjee openly challenged, saying, “TMC Legislative Party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the party’s symbol. Now we are the real TMC within the Assembly and the Speaker has given legal recognition to our claim.” The most surprising thing in this rebellion is that almost half (about 17 out of 34) of the Muslim MLAs, considered to be Mamata Banerjee’s strong vote bank, have now stood with Ritabrata.
Dispute with nephew and complex web of ‘chief advisor’
The suspense in this entire political drama deepened when the rebel group did not completely reject Mamata Banerjee. In a very clever move, the rebels have proposed that they are ready to retain Mamata Banerjee as their “chief advisor”. However, his real battle is against Mamata Banerjee’s nephew and party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. Ritabrata and his group have made it clear that they will not hold any talks with Abhishek Banerjee at any cost. This anger of the MLAs against Abhishek, who has been holding the number two position in the party since 2016, has now divided TMC into two factions.
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War at the doorstep of the court: from the streets to the court
Shocked by this unexpected shock, Mamata Banerjee’s core team has now started preparing for legal and political counterattack. After the meeting was over, senior party MP Kalyan Banerjee came in front of the media and termed the Speaker’s decision as completely “illegal” and unconstitutional. Kalyan Banerjee announced, “This appointment of the leader of the opposition by the Speaker is completely illegal. We are going to file a petition against it in the High Court on Monday.” Along with this, he also targeted the ruling party at the Center and alleged that BJP workers are deliberately implicating TMC leaders in false cases. This message emanating from Kalighat has made it clear that this war of Bengal will no longer be limited to the Assembly only, but it will be fought from the streets to the court rooms. This suspense of Bengali politics is becoming deeper with every passing hour.