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Since the crushing defeat of Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the West Bengal Assembly elections, internal discord and problems have been increasing continuously within the party. After the election results, Mamata Banerjee led TMC seems to be falling apart. According to the latest speculations going on in the political circles, more than 50 party MLAs may leave Mamata Banerjee and form a separate faction. This possible rebellion has caused a huge upheaval in the politics of Bengal. Meanwhile, as part of damage control efforts, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee has taken strict action and expelled two rebel MLAs from the party. This political development has come to light at a time when many party councilors are continuously resigning from their posts and the party is becoming weak at the grassroots level.
Revolt under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha, preparation to form new Trinamool
The entire controversy started when two prominent TMC MLAs—Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha—raised serious questions on the official decisions of the party. These two leaders had made a written complaint to the Assembly Speaker (Speaker) that fake signatures of them and many other MLAs were used on the document submitted for the selection of Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly. Soon after this sensational revelation, TMC expelled both of them from the primary membership of the party. However, even after the expulsion, the morale of these rebel leaders has not diminished. There is intense discussion in political circles that a ‘new Trinamool’ or a separate legislative group may soon be formally announced under the leadership of Ritabrata Banerjee and Sandipan Saha. The MLAs’ frequent meetings and distance from party programs have further fueled these claims.
Will Maharashtra’s ‘Shiv Sena vs Shinde’ script be repeated in Bengal also?
If more than 50 Trinamool Congress MLAs actually rebel and choose a different path, then West Bengal may also witness an unprecedented political development similar to what happened in Maharashtra some time ago. In Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde had opened a front against the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with a two-thirds majority of the MLAs, as a result of which not only did Uddhav Thackeray’s government fall, but he also had to lose the name of his parent party and the historical election symbol like ‘bow and arrow’. Later, Ajit Pawar also played a similar political game with Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Now a similar situation seems to be developing in Bengal, where the rebel faction is claiming to gather the required number of MLAs to avoid the Anti-Defection Law.
Effort to cross the two-thirds mark, a big challenge for Mamata Banerjee
After the defeat in the assembly elections, the total number of TMC MLAs in the 294-member Bengal Assembly had reduced to 80. Now after the expulsion of 2 MLAs this figure has come down to 78. In such a situation, to avoid action under the anti-defection law, the rebel group will need the support of at least 53 MLAs (two-thirds majority). The news is coming quoting sources that the rebel camp is claiming to cross this figure easily. The most interesting thing is that these rebel leaders are talking about keeping Mamata Banerjee as their chief advisor, but have openly opened a front against the working style and decisions of the party’s National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee. The top leadership of TMC has not yet given any detailed official statement on the news of this major breakdown, but from the ongoing meetings from the Secretariat to the political corridors, it is clear that Mamata Banerjee has faced the biggest challenge till date to save the existence of her 15-year-old party.
