Is Trinamool Congress going to split into two? What is the biggest challenge facing Mamata Banerjee? How many TMC MPs are said to be with the rebel group? Is TMC’s parliamentary party on the verge of disintegration? Will Mamata Banerjee be able to keep the party united?
TMC Rebellion: The Trinamool Congress is facing one of the biggest shocks in its 28-year history. Just weeks after the crushing defeat in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s party has already seen a major split in the Assembly and now faces the threat of a split in Parliament as well. According to reports, the group of rebel MPs has secured the support of 19 MPs, which is two-thirds of the party’s parliamentary strength and is required to form a separate faction. Yusuf Pathan, Sayani Ghosh and Mala Roy are among the MPs who have signed the rebel list, bringing the party to the brink of a complete split.
Who is in the list of rebel MPs?
According to reports, rebel MPs led by Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar have formed a separate parliamentary faction and promised to support the NDA. Among the names that have appeared so far in the list of rebel MPs…
- Jagdish Chandra Basunia (Cooch Behar)
- Khalil-ur-Rahman (Jangipur)
- Abu Tahir Khan (Murshidabad)
- Parth Bhowmik (Barrackpur)
- Bapi Haldar (Mathurapur)
- Mala Roy (Kolkata South)
- Mithali Bagh (Arambagh)
- Deepak Adhikari (Ghatal)
- Kalipada Soren (Jhargram)
- June Malia (Medinipur)
- Arup Chakraborty (Bankura)
- Dr. Sharmila Sarkar (Burdwan East)
- Asit Kumar Mal (Bolpur)
- Shatabdi Roy (Birbhum)
- Rachna Banerjee (Hooghly)
- Yusuf Pathan (Behrampur)
- Shatrughan Sinha (Asansol)
- Protima Mandal (Joynagar)
- Prasun Banerjee (Howrah)
What does the anti-defection law say?
Under the anti-defection law, a faction must garner the support of at least two-thirds of the party’s total strength to avoid automatic disqualification. Trinamool has 28 seats, so the rebel group needs the support of 19 MPs to legally justify its move, which it has got.
Revolt reached Parliament from Assembly
Trinamool’s organizational crisis became public earlier this week when the rebellion within the party that started in the Bengal Assembly reached Parliament. The rift in Parliament broke out when 58 Trinamool MLAs (the rebel group claims this number has now increased to 64) defied the party leadership and supported expelling MLA Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the opposition instead of the party’s official candidate Shobhandeb Chattopadhyay.
The biggest challenge for Mamata Banerjee
The continuous rebellions have posed a big political challenge to Mamata Banerjee and the TMC leadership. This is perhaps the first time since the party’s establishment in 1998 that such a serious situation has arisen regarding organizational control, legislative power, parliamentary numerical strength and political legitimacy. Experts believe that if this crisis deepens further, it may impact the party’s national and state level politics as well.
Got setbacks from Rajya Sabha also
The crisis was not limited to Lok Sabha and Assembly only. In recent times, the party has also faced setbacks in the Rajya Sabha. Senior leader Sukhendu Shekhar Roy earlier resigned from both the Rajya Sabha and the party. After this Sushmita Dev also decided to leave Rajya Sabha membership and TMC. These resignations have further exposed the growing differences within the party.
What is the challenge ahead for TMC?
The incidents of dissent at all three levels – Assembly, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – have put the Trinamool Congress in a difficult situation. Now everyone’s eyes are on how the party leadership deals with this crisis and whether there is any effort to bring the rebel leaders back into the organization or whether this political tussle will escalate further.