Only 8 MLAs Attend: What Happened At Mamata’s High-Stakes TMC Meeting?

<p>The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which governed West Bengal for the past 15 years, was reduced to 80 seats in the 294-member Assembly when the election results were declared on May 4. However, the party&rsquo;s troubles appear to have deepened further after a major internal rebellion erupted within its ranks.</p> <p>In a significant setback for the Mamata Banerjee-led party, 58 TMC MLAs have openly revolted and claimed they now represent the principal Opposition bloc in the Assembly, triggering a sharp split within the organisation.</p> <p>Amid the growing crisis, Mamata Banerjee convened a meeting at her residence on Friday. However, only eight MLAs from the non-rebel camp attended the gathering. According to ANI, those present were Bina Mondal, Ashima Patra, Madan Mitra, Kunal Ghosh, Firhad Hakim, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Biman Banerjee and Ashok Kumar Deb.</p> <p>Six MPs also attended the meeting, Dola Sen, Mala Roy, Kalyan Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O&rsquo;Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay. The TMC currently has 28 Lok Sabha MPs and 13 Rajya Sabha MPs.</p> <h2><strong>Ritabrata Banerjee Emerges As Face Of Revolt</strong></h2> <p>The rebellion is being spearheaded by expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, who on Wednesday announced after meeting the Speaker that he had been recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.</p> <p>The crisis is being viewed as the biggest organisational split in the TMC since Mamata Banerjee formed the party three decades ago after leaving the Congress.</p> <p>A substantial section of the party&rsquo;s Muslim legislators has also backed Ritabrata Banerjee. Nearly half of TMC&rsquo;s 34 Muslim MLAs are reportedly supporting him. Ritabrata, a former student leader, was expelled from the CPI(M) in 2017 and was later nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC in 2024.</p> <p>&ldquo;The TMC legislative party is a team of 58 MLAs who won on the TMC symbol. We are the real TMC now in the assembly,&rdquo; Ritabrata said.</p> <p>&ldquo;Our claim has been accepted by the speaker,&rdquo; he added after meeting the Speaker.</p> <p>The rebel faction has indicated that it wants Mamata Banerjee to remain their &ldquo;principal adviser&rdquo;, but said it does not wish to engage with Abhishek Banerjee, the party&rsquo;s national general secretary and Mamata Banerjee&rsquo;s nephew, who rose to prominence within the party in 2016.</p> <h2><strong>TMC Plans Legal Battle</strong></h2> <p>The TMC has decided to challenge the Speaker&rsquo;s decision in court after Ritabrata Banerjee was appointed Leader of the Opposition.</p> <p>Senior party leader and MP Kalyan Banerjee described the move as &ldquo;illegal&rdquo;.</p> <p>&ldquo;We have decided that the LoP appointed by the Speaker is illegal. We are approaching the Court against this on Monday. We will file a petition before the High Court,&rdquo; he said.</p> <p>Kalyan Banerjee also alleged that BJP workers were targeting TMC members and filing false cases against them.</p> <p>&ldquo;We will fight on the streets, we will fight in Court,&rdquo; he said after the meeting chaired by Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence in Kolkata.</p>

from OPINION | The Cockroach Janta Party Problem: India Produces Mass Movements. Why Doesn't It Produce Mass Leaders? https://ift.tt/6JhlENP
via IFTTT