Ritabrata Banerjee Named Bengal LoP As Rift Within Trinamool Congress Deepens

Bengal politics was thrown into turmoil on Wednesday after expelled Trinamool Congress leader Ritabrata Banerjee was formally recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the newly constituted 18th State Legislative Assembly, marking the most serious internal rupture in the party’s history. The recognition of Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition represents a major setback for former Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, whose party has been grappling with a deepening leadership crisis following its defeat in the Assembly elections.

According to the rebel camp, 58 legislators extended their backing to Ritabrata Banerjee, comfortably crossing the threshold required under the anti-defection law for a breakaway faction to avoid disqualification. With the TMC currently holding 80 seats in the Assembly, at least 54 MLAs were needed to establish a valid split under the law. Ritabrata Banerjee arrived at the Assembly and staked claim to the leadership of the Trinamool Congress legislature party with the support of a large bloc of dissident MLAs.

The dissident group submitted letters of support to Speaker Rathindra Bose and proposed Ritabrata Banerjee as the leader of the legislature party. Alongside him, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha and Shiuli Saha were named deputy leaders, while Raghunathganj MLA Akhruzzaman was proposed as the chief whip.

The show of strength witnessed the presence of several senior Trinamool legislators, including Samar Mukhopadhyay, Arup Roy, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Prasun Banerjee. Other MLAs present included Sabina Yasmin, Samir Panja, Golam Rabbani, Imani Biswas, Hamidur Rahaman, Dinen Roy, Chandranath Sinha, Riaz Hossain, Gulshan Mallik, Piya Pal, Surajit Mitra, Usharani Mondal and Abdul Aziz.


Despite the open rebellion within the legislative wing, the dissident camp stopped short of directly challenging Mamata Banerjee’s authority over the party. In their communication to the Speaker, the rebels continued to refer to her as the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress. However, they made it clear that they no longer accepted the authority of TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee in determining the affairs of the legislature party.

“A new Trinamool takes shape. Ritabrata Banerjee named Leader of Opposition. Akhruzzaman as chief whip. Sixty-four victorious TMC MLAs are with us. We accept Mamata Banerjee as our leader, but do not accept Abhishek Banerjee,” a leader associated with the dissident camp said.

Earlier in the day, Ritabrata Banerjee himself attempted to strike a careful balance between defiance and loyalty. “The TMC has expelled me, but I believe that I am still with the party. If the MLAs are listening to me, then I am very powerful,” he said. Addressing reporters after being recognised as LoP, Ritabrata Banerjee reiterated that Mamata Banerjee continued to remain the ideological leader of the faction, while simultaneously asserting that the breakaway bloc would function as a “positive” and “constructive” opposition inside the Assembly.

However, the press conference also exposed the growing internal fault lines within the party. In a pointed attack on Abhishek Banerjee, Ritabrata Banerjee declared that the TMC national general secretary would have “no role” in the functioning of the legislature party inside the Assembly.

Within hours of the rebellion becoming public, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction moved swiftly to counter the challenge. In a statement posted on X, the Trinamool Congress announced the dissolution of all organisational committees in West Bengal, as well as every frontal organisation associated with the party. “After careful consideration, it has been decided that all committees of the All India Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, as well as all its frontal organisations, shall stand dissolved with immediate effect,” the party said.

The statement added that the party would now undertake a “comprehensive exercise of introspection, performance review and organisational assessment at every level”, following which the entire organisational structure would be rebuilt. The move is being viewed as an attempt by the Mamata Banerjee camp to reassert organisational control amid fears that the rebellion within the legislative wing could spread to the party’s grassroots network.