The internal dispute in Trinamool Congress, which faced defeat in the elections in West Bengal, is not showing any end. The battle to have real TMC in the party has started. Many rebel MLAs of the party reached the West Bengal Assembly. These MLAs will submit a letter to Speaker Rathin Ghosh regarding the election of Leader of Opposition and will claim that they are the real TMC.
Prominent rebel MLAs who reached the assembly include Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay, Sandipan Saha, Sabina Yasmin, Akhruzzaman and many other MLAs. Sandipan Saha claimed that he has the support of more than two-thirds of the MLAs.
Earlier on Tuesday, West Bengal Minister Tapas Roy had claimed that there is going to be a split in TMC. This claim was made by Roy at a time when speculations are being made that a large section of TMC MLAs may separate from the party under the leadership of expelled MLA Ritabrata Banerjee.
Outside the Assembly, Tapas Roy claimed that Trinamool Congress has given place in its party to people who have little experience of politics, and now internal differences in the party are coming to the fore. He claims that TMC is now “going through a process of disintegration which cannot be avoided.”
Maniktala MLA Tapas Roy said that TMC, which has ruled the state for the last 15 years, will eventually disappear from the political map of the state.
On the other hand, the opposition party insisted that most of its MLAs are standing with party chief and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Senior TMC leader Shobhandev Chattopadhyay, who has been named the leader of the opposition by the party, has rejected any such possibility. He also alleged that the ruling party is trying to break the MLAs and destabilize the opposition party.
He said, “We have no fear that there is going to be a big rebellion in the party. Most of the MLAs will remain with Mamata Banerjee, and the old leaders of the party will maintain their strong control over the Trinamool Congress. The election symbol of two flowers (Joda Ghas Phool) will remain with Mamata.”
Expelled TMC MLA Ritabrata Banerjee, after coming out of the assembly complex yesterday, admitted that he had met some MLAs in the MLA hostel and had ‘muri’ with them. He also said that he believes in “living each day as it is”. He refused to comment on speculations that more than 50 MLAs could join his camp.
Ritabrata also claimed that no resolution was passed to elect Shobhandev Chattopadhyay as the leader of the opposition. The document he signed was merely an attendance sheet.
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