The rebel faction, led by expelled leaders Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, submitted letters of support to Assembly Speaker Rathindra Bose, naming Banerjee as their new legislative head. Under the anti-defection law, a breakaway faction requires a two-thirds majority to avoid disqualification; with 58 of the TMC’s 80 MLAs on board, the rebels comfortably cleared the 54-lawmaker threshold. Speaker Bose has reportedly accepted their claim.
“We are the real and principal opposition in the West Bengal Assembly,” Ritabrata Banerjee declared, though he extended a olive branch by requesting Mamata Banerjee to serve as “chief adviser” to the legislature party.
Significantly, the rebels stopped short of challenging Mamata Banerjee’s ultimate supremacy, explicitly identifying her as the party chairperson. Instead, their anger was directed at her nephew and TMC National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee.
“We accept Mamata Banerjee as our leader, but we do not accept Abhishek Banerjee,” a dissident leader stated, underscoring a deep-seated generational power struggle.
The rebel lineup also names Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, and Shiuli Saha as deputy leaders, with Akhruzzaman stepping in as chief whip. A massive show of strength at the Assembly featured veteran faces, including Arup Roy, Rathin Ghosh, and Sabina Yasmin.
The Mamata Banerjee camp struck back swiftly. Within hours of the coup, the TMC leadership announced the immediate dissolution of all organizational and frontal committees across West Bengal.
The party stated on X that it is launching a “comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review, and organizational assessment” before entirely restructuring its machinery. Meanwhile, senior leader Kunal Ghosh fiercely condemned the dissidents, accusing them of “backstabbing” the organization during a vulnerable moment.
The unfolding drama heavily echoes the “Maharashtra model” of 2022, where Eknath Shinde successfully seized control of the Shiv Sena’s legislative wing, as well as Ajit Pawar’s 2023 coup within the National Congress Party (NCP). For Mamata Banerjee, the challenge is no longer just retaining the Leader of the Opposition title—which requires only 30 MLAs—but fighting to keep the very identity, name, and symbol of the party she built.
The ruling BJP wasted no time capitalizing on the chaos. BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X: “A month ago, she was the chief minister… Today, even her party members and MLAs have rejected her. She has lost control of the legislative party… and this is just the beginning.”
