Mamata Banerjee Dumped As TMC Chief By Rebel Camp Led By Ritabrata

Nearly three decades after Mamata Banerjee founded the Trinamool Congress as a breakaway force, the party is confronting an unprecedented challenge from within. For the first time since its inception in 1998, a dissident camp has not merely questioned the leadership but has attempted to recreate the organisation itself, complete with its own chairperson and parallel hierarchy.

In a dramatic escalation of the internal power struggle, the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee on Monday named senior MLA Arup Roy as the chairperson of what it called the "real" Trinamool Congress, directly contesting Mamata Banerjee's claim over the party she built. The rebel camp followed up the announcement by declaring the suspension of National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, signalling that its fight is no longer confined to legislative numbers but has expanded into a battle over the party's organisational identity and future.

The move comes in the aftermath of the Trinamool Congress's electoral setback in West Bengal and reflects a widening rift over the party's direction. The dissident faction has unveiled its own organisational structure, arguing that the exercise is backed by constitutional provisions and enjoys the support of a substantial section of elected representatives. The competing claims have transformed an internal disagreement into a high-stakes contest over who can legitimately speak for one of India's most influential regional parties.

Parallel Party Structure

Rebel leaders, MLAs and councillors convened at a five-star hotel in New Town to address what the faction termed a "constitutional crisis". Senior leaders including Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Javed Khan, Sandipan Saha, Asim Bose, Jui Biswas and Tarak Singh attended the meeting, along with rebel MLAs, councillors and former elected representatives from Kolkata, Howrah, Murshidabad, Berhampore and several other districts.

Ritabrata Banerjee said the previous national working committee, formed in February 2022, had expired after completing its three-year tenure without reconstitution. "The organisational structure was not reconstituted after the expiry of its tenure. Therefore, it became necessary to initiate the process of rebuilding the party's national leadership in accordance with the constitution," a leader present at the meeting quoted Banerjee as saying, according to India Today.

The gathering subsequently formed a new 30-member national working committee. This body initially comprised Arup Roy, Firhad Hakim, Arup Biswas, Biplab Mitra, Akhruzzaman Ansari, Sabina Yasmin, Sandipan Saha, Rathin Ghosh, Javed Khan and Ritabrata Banerjee. The committee then elected Howrah Central MLA Arup Roy as chairperson by voice vote.

The faction appointed Firhad Hakim, Aroop Biswas, Rathin Ghosh and Sabina Yasmin as vice-chairpersons. Ritabrata Banerjee, Javed Khan and Sandipan Saha took the roles of general secretaries, while Akhruzzaman Ansari was named treasurer. The newly constituted committee immediately passed a resolution to appoint an independent auditor to examine the party's financial records.

Scale of Rebellion

Rebel sources said about 60 MLAs and numerous councillors, including members of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, attended or supported the Monday meeting.

The faction previously demonstrated its strength weeks ago when a majority of Trinamool MLAs backed Ritabrata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition, rejecting Mamata Banerjee's preferred nominee. The rebel camp now says it commands the support of approximately 65 legislators in the state assembly.

The fracturing extends to the national parliament. Twenty of the party's 28 Lok Sabha MPs recently broke away to merge with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and support the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.